February 2016
Analyses by ELI’s Visiting Attorney Amy Streitwieser and Senior Attorney and Western Water Program Director Adam Schempp were featured in a new book by the National Academy of Sciences: Using Graywater and Stormwater to Enhance Local Water Supplies: An Assessment of Risks, Costs, and Benefit.
The book examines technical, economic, regulatory, and social issues associated with graywater and stormwater capture for a range of uses, including non-potable urban uses, irrigation, and groundwater recharge. “Stormwater” is the runoff from rooftops, streets, and other areas when it rains. “Graywater” is untreated wastewater from household sources like bathroom sinks and clothes washers, but not from toilets or kitchen sinks. Especially in drought-prone areas of the country , how this water can be safely used is of increasing interest to water managers and the public.
Streitwieser and Schempp drafted much of the Legal and Regulatory Issues chapter, based on their work in the evolving field of graywater and stormwater use law as well as experience with water allocation statutes and plumbing codes.
Both a free pre-publication copy and pre-order purchase of the paperback book are available at The National Academies Press website here.