Wineries employ water-saving systems; new look at ‘greywater’
By Jeff Quackenbush, Business Journal Staff Reporter
GRATON – The wine and construction industries are finding new ways to reuse and conserve water as constraints are put on the supply of water.
Sonoma Wine Co. has cut its use of fresh water for making wine in the past six years by using steam to clean bottling equipment, recycling a portion of tank and barrel rinse water and reclaiming part of what goes down the drain, according to General Manager Ed Silva. These methods have saved 700 to 800 gallons of fresh water a day for bottling line washing and two-thirds of water used for barrel washing.
“We focus on water conservation from the supply side because real conservation is based on inputs,” he said, noting company incentives for employees to save water.
Process wastewater that is left to treat for disposal has fallen to 2.71 gallons per case for the more than 3 million cases produced now in six facilities in Sonoma and Napa counties. When the initiative started in 2003, wastewater output was 4.2 gallons for much less production.
Sonoma Wine Co. is experimenting with new process wastewater treatment equipment based on wiped-film rotating disc technology. It’s part of an industry-wide effort to develop compact on-site treatment systems that lower the high levels of organic matter in process wastewater to a range that won’t affect aquatic species yet not require traditional treatment ponds that take up valuable real estate and can generate complaints from neighbors.
Among the system designs gaining popularity for on-site and municipal systems is the membrane bioreactor, according to Anu Shah, who oversees Summit Engineering’s water and wastewater division.
Advantages of the membrane systems over traditional aerobic microbial treatment systems are their small physical footprint and options for Internet-based monitoring and automation. Examples of installed systems are the cities of Healdsburg and American Canyon as well as De Loach, Sterling and Hess Collection wineries.
The cost, depending on extras and scale, is $400,000 to $2 million, Mr. Shah noted.
Irrigation for landscaping and agriculture has been a major focus for efforts in water conservation for the past three decades, starting with the emergence of drip systems and progressing to use of treated wastewater. However, concerns about the quality of reclaimed water after on-site treatment has made some regulators wary of widespread use for landscaping, as seen in the state plumbing code regarding use of “greywater,” or wastewater from sinks, showers and washing machines that is mostly free of deadly pathogens.
The state is looking to change its plumbing code to allow local building departments to start permitting greywater systems as part of the adoption last year of state Senate Bill 1258. Local building officials and engineers are eager to see Title 16 of the California Plumbing Code changed significantly to allow more legal use of greywater.
Regulation revisions are set to be circulated to stakeholders at the end of this week and submitted to the Building Standards Commission on June 30.
A hearing is scheduled for July 7. The goal is to incorporate the greywater revisions in plumbing code changes effective in January 2011.
For more information, visit www.oasisdesign.net/greywater.
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