The Greywater Guerrillas
Sign up to receive notices of our greywater talks, workshops, and book tour events:
greywatered yard

A greywatered yard.

Events

Check back for dates and locations of future workshops, or sign up to be on the mailing list!

Watch a video of a past workshop.

See a video from the LA Times of a reporter attending a workshop.

Upcoming workshops


September 5th, 2009    11am

  • Location: Annie's Annuals
  • Event:  Presentation-Reconnect to the Water Cycle with Greywater, Rainwater, and Composting Toilets. Interested in cutting your water use in half while growing a beautiful garden? Learn how as we explore rainwater catchment, greywater reuse, and waterless composting toilets. We'll focus on low-tech, simple options for greywater reuse.
  • Cost: FREE

September 19th and 20th, 2009    9am-5pm

  • Location: Solar Living Institute, Hopland. CA
  • Event:  2-day greywater class. Hands-on
  • To Register: Go to SLI's webpage to register.
  • Cost: $240

September 12th, 2009    10am-noon

  • Location: Ruth Bancroft Garden   Walnut Creek, CA
  •  Event:  Greywater and Rainwater Presentation
  • To Register: Call Karen at (925) 944-9352
  • Cost:  $20 for RBG Members $20 for Garden Conservancy Members $25 for the General Public

September 26th, 2009    11am-4pm

  • Location: El Cerrito, CA (address given upon registration)
  • Event:  Hands-on greywater workshop (from a washing machine)
  • To Register: info (at) greywaterguerrillas.com
  • Cost: sliding scale $30-100 (limited work-trade available upon request)

October 5th-9th, 2009    8am-5pm

  • Location: Oakland (near 19th St. BART station)
  • This course is designed for people with either basic plumbing,
    landscaping, or permaculture skills who want to learn how to design and
    build simple, economical residential greywater systems
  • Event:  This course will prepare you to be a certified greywater install-
    er. You will learn about the theory behind simple and high-end
    systems including the indoor use of greywater. We’ll cover ba-
    sic plumbing and landscaping skills needed for the four types of
    common simple greywater systems. You will learn how to conduct
    a site assessment, determine which system to install and how
    to maintain existing systems. Additionally you’ll learn about what
    plants do best with greywater and the do’s and don’t of residential
    greywater reuse. By the end of the course you will know about
    proper installation of code compliant washing machine, single fix-
    ture, and simple systems under the new CA state code.
  •  There will be an optional exam and installation for people wishing to be
    certified and listed on our website. We're in the process of upgrading our
    site and it will include an "installer's page" with contact info for
    graduates of our course, as well as an internal list serve for installers
    to share info, experiences, and get support.
  • To Register: www.greencactus.org
  • Cost: $595
This is a typical agenda and basic information for a hands-on workshop. (This is for a washing machine system)
10:45 Arrive/Register
11:00 Greywater Presentation- We'll go over the most common and reliable residential greywater systems, greywater basics (e.g. soaps, plants, filters), greywater codes, and any questions people have.
12:00 Lunch Break and system design time. We’ll break into groups to eat our lunches according to type of greywater system you’re thinking of building. We’ll help you with your design ideas and answer questions about your site/system.
1:00 Build System
          Plumbing Group will attach washer to 3-way valve and send the water outside.
          Irrigation Group will connect greywater irrigation lines to send water to the landscape.
Participants rotate between groups, participating in all aspects of the system construction.
3:30 Finish system. Run load of wash and "tune" the system (making adjustments so the water comes out evenly). Talk about maintenance and care of the system.
4:00 End.

Bring: Camera, water, hat, sunscreen, gloves, work clothes, a shovel or trowel (if you have one- we usually need a couple more), and something to take notes.
There will be greywater and rainwater catchment books for sale.  You will receive hand outs about the system we built, as well as other basic greywater systems.
Workshops are typically small, 15-20 people max, so all partipants can be actively involved in the building of the system. For people not able to do physical labor there are observing and supporting roles.  Each workshop has between 2 and 3 instructors.
Cost- Workshops typically cost $30-$100 sliding scale and there are work trade opportunities as well.  Email if you would be interested in a worktrade.