Silver Star Apartments Greywater Treatment & Reuse

Project Description

A Community of Friends (ACOF) is one of the largest non-profit affordable housing developers in the Los Angeles area, and strives to provide safe housing for homeless, disabled, and very low income persons that is also sustainably built and maintained. Silver Star Apartments is a 49-unit affordable housing community servicing homeless veterans, located in Los Angeles, California. The development also includes a community building to provide on-site supportive services to its residents. The project is pursuing LEED certification and/or Living Building Challenge Petal Certification and desired a method to reduce potable water use at the site to help meet these goals.

Biohabitats designed a greywater treatment and reuse system to collect greywater from the building lavatory sinks, showers, and laundry machines and treat it to meet 100% of the non-potable demand for in-building toilet flushing and site irrigation. The system consists of a textile filter, followed by microfiltration and disinfection. The use of the system will save 480,000 gallons of potable water annually, or about 9.6 million gallons over a 20 year period.

The on-site treatment system underwent a plan check with the City and County of Los Angeles, and Biohabitats assisted in the successful navigation of the process. Construction began in January 2016.