SYDNEY'S SUSTAINABLE TERRACE HOUSE

Sydney’s Chippendale Terrace House – Sustainable Housing

This is a very interesting and thought provoking project. In Sydney there is a self-sufficient house at 58 Myrtle Street, Chippendale ,2008, New South Wales , Australia. The two storey inner city terrace house is on a 130 square metre site (including 48 square metre garden), 2 kilometres from Sydney's central business district
A solar energy system that puts back surplus solar energy into the main electricity grid. The solar system puts the house's power bills into a credit with the local power company. Each year, the house will be a net exporter of clean energy to the main grid. It produces 3610 kilowatts of power a year.
A waste treatment system that treats washing, kitchen and household waste to tertiary quality levels for treatment and re-use. It uses natural, self-adjusting, biological process, not chemicals. Yet the house appears the same as any other, having the usual flush toilet, and typical clothes and dish washing machines.
A rainwater harvesting system that catches rainwater from the roof and stores it for use, and filters out metals and other pollution.
There's a little wetland that provides a safe house for frogs (which eat the mozzies), insects, native birds.
Although one may think that a sustainable house is more suitable in remote areas which are cut off from public infrastructure and utilities, this house demonstration shows that technology and knowledge of basic sustainability requirements are available for implementation.
The Universities, NSW Health and South Sydney Council there have verified of zero faecal coliform counts for wastewater each fortnight. No sewage has left the site. Almost no storm water has left the site.

Sustainable House Details
* solar panels on two north facing roofs * excess wastewater is discharged along the side passage of the house and runs down a reed bed * the round rainwater tank is buried in the ground below the deck * the deck is made of radialyy-sawn hardwood timber ( radially-sawn timber yields about 85% of the timber in a log compared to traditional sawing methods which only get about 55% of the timber).
* all toilet, kitchen and washing waste is put in the long, narrow waste management concrete tank on the boundary,then that water is recycled for flushing the toilet, washing our clothes and watering the garden - and it's testing at zero faecal coliform each fortnight * the mini-wetland, about as big as a large dining room table holds any overflow rainwater and any overflow wastewater.
* No sewage leaves the site and the house is not connected to the town water or sewage pipes. * the site is 5 metres wide, 35 metres long, with terraces on similar-sized lots either side; the terraces were built in the 1890s.


Each year Sydney's Sustainable House...
Saves 102,000 litres of water which is left in the Shoalhaven river and Warragamba Dam
Keeps >60,000 litres of sewage out of the Pacific Ocean
Produces >100,000 litres of clean water
Saves 4.3 tonnes of coal from burning
Reduces carbon dioxide pollution from power stations by 8.3 tonnes. So the house cuts greenhouse pollution
Cuts Council's waste by several tonnes. The waste system recycles newspaper, kitchen scraps, compost
Produces $1119.30 of clean energy a year, or $3.06 a day
Keeps >80,000 litres of stormwater out of Sydney Harbour

GREY WATER REUSE : SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCE

GREY WATER REUSE: SUSTAINABILITY
There are many colors of water. Bluewater from aquifiers, rivers and lakes. Greenwater is soil moisture. Blackwater is from toilets, kitchen sinks and dishwashers. Greywater (GW) is wastewater from baths, showers, hand basins and washing machines.

GW is a sustainable water resource and may be reused in an appropriate manner for garden watering directly without treatment

The reuse of GW shall reduce the water demand on municipality water supply and reduce the pressure in seeking new catchment areas for traditional water supply from dams. In a Malaysian home, typically up to 50% of the discharged water is considered greywater suitable for reuse.

Australia and some US states have issued guidelines on the reuse of graywater in the gardens. In Victoria, Australia, rebates of $500 is given for GW system that must be installed by a licensed “Green Plumber”.

GW contains bacteria, protozoa, viruses and parasites. It also contains grease, fats, oils, detergents, food, hair and chemicals. However the public health risk associate with onsite reuse of domestic greywater are considered low, as the source of the contamination is from the immediate family. Other sources of transfer of pathogens among the immediate family members would be considered as higher risks. (Greywater-Canberra Fact sheet No: 7).

The contaminants in GW can usually be processed by the soil and plants, and some of the nutrients are also beneficial to plant growth. However some salts (sodium and potassium) present in laundry detergents may cause soil degradation.
GW from baths and showers are less polluted than from basins due to the high volumes used. Concern of urine discharge in baths and showers are considered low due to the fact that urine is sterile and germs have low chance of transmission and survival in the soil.

Some Do’s and Don’ts are:

1. The greywater shall be used for irrigation only at the place of generation


2. Vegetable or Food crops shall be the types that do not touch the ground. Suitable plants are tomatoes, chilies, ladies fingers, brinjals, and cucumbers. Unsuitable are spinach, carrots, and cabbages.


3. Use low phosphorus detergents in the unit
   
4. Greywater should be diverted to the garden by a below ground seepage pipe to reduce human exposure to the water and aerosols.


5. A diversion system that will automatically divert the greywater to the sewer if the greywater system blocks or malfunctions shall be installed.


6. Greywater shall not be discharged into watercourse but into a public sewer.


7. Ensure excess greywater is diverted to the sewer.


8. During wet periods, the greywater shall be diverted into the sewer system.


9. Stop using greywater if you smell odours and your plants do not appear to be healthy


10. Use only in soil which has a watertable more than 2metres below.


11. Wash your hands after gardening in greywater irrigated areas


12. Use less fertiliser when irrigating with greywater


13. Ensure greywater does not contaminate any source of drinking water: extreme care must be taken to ensure there is no cross-connection between the greywater re-use system and the drinking water supply

Don't

1. Never water vegetable gardens if the crop is to be eaten raw


2. Never use greywater that has faecal contamination, for example, wastewater used to wash nappies


3. Never store untreated greywater for more than 24 hours


4. Never allow greywater to flow beyond your property boundary or enter stormwater systems


5. Do not use kitchen wastewater (including dishwashers) - it contains highly concentrated food wastes and chemicals that are not readily broken down by soil organisms


6. Do not allow greywater to pool or stagnate as this will attract insects and rodents, which may transmit disease.
   
   

Irrigation system Buffer Tank and Distribution Pipes

Vegetable Beds and Crops

RAINWATER HARVESTING : A SUSTAINABLE WATER SUPPLY

RAINWATER HARVESTING: A SUSTAINABLE WATER SUPPLY

TASMANIAN RAIN is rainwater captured on the pristine north west coast of the island of Tasmania, Australia. The water is collected just minutes of where the World Meteorological Organization records the world’s purest air.

The rain has traveled eastward via air currents over Antarctica and 10,000 miles of ocean. As a result, TASMANIAN RAIN contains only 17 parts per million of dissolved solids.

TASMANIAN RAIN is collected by a custom-designed catchment facility, and never touches the ground. http:www.tasmanianrain.com

The above website was very exciting to me as I graduated from University of Tasmania; but of course during the 70’s, environmental issues were just emerging and of not much interest to the community. However there were Environmentalist groups in Tasmania then, who were opposing the construction of Dams for Hydroelectric power which was the main source of electrical supply for the island.

The website was discovered while I was researching material for a talk I gave to the Institution of Engineers at the recent Colloquium on the sustainable water supply; aka Rainwater Harvesting (RWH).

RWH is an age old technique involving capturing or trapping the rainwater on the roofs or some other surface before it touches the ground and storing it for reuse. It has been practiced in arid and semi -arid regions and in roman villas, Indian old cities and in Balinese temples.

Presently, RWH is gaining recognition as a sustainable means of water supply.

This is a result of the paradigm shift in concept of municipal water supply. When cities grow with ever increasing demand for municipal water, it has been traditional to seek new water catchments, construct dams with large water surfaces, build long interstate water pipelines and construct treatment plants.

All the above causes damage to the environment. Biodiversity is affected; treatment consumes chemicals and produces toxic wastes not to discount the CO2 emissions during the construction and operational process.

“The sustainable method of water supply is to capture the rainwater at source where it falls, store and utilized it there.”

From a typical breakdown of water use in a Malaysian home, the water used for toilet flushing (30%), clothes washing (13%), outdoor (7%), and cleaning (8%) amounting 58% of household water consumption in Malaysia, can be replaced by rainwater harvesting. (Baharuddin A., 2007)

The Malaysian government has recognized that RWH contribute towards national water conservation. It has made a commitment to revise the Guidelines for Installing a Rainwater Collection and Utilization System, in the Ninth Malaysia Plan; ref: item 18.50, Chap 18, of Ninth Malaysia Plan 2006-2010

In 2003, a shopping complex in Petaling Jaya has successfully installed a RWH system and reported a savings of 30% of its monthly water bill.

JPS and NAHRIM has installed and studied RWH in a double storey link house, Mosque and the JPS headquarters building. NAHRIM reported a savings of 34% of the household water consumption and a stored rainwater quality equivalent to Malaysian National WQI Index of Class IIA; ie suitable for recreation and body contact.

Sumida City, Japan has promoted RWH and to date 300 tanks have been installed in the city, whilst it was reported that 750 private and public buildings in Tokyo have installed RWH systems.

At Changi Airport, rainfall from the runways and the surrounding green areas is diverted to two impounding reservoirs. The water is used primarily for non-potable functions such fire-fighting drills and toilet flushing. Such collected and treated water accounts for 28 to 33% of the total water used

In a project at Belss-Luedecke-Strasse,Berlin, rainwater from all roof areas (7,000 m2) is transferred into a an underground cistern together with the runoff from streets, parking spaces and pathways and the water is used for toilet flushing and garden watering.

In St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, a rainwater utilisation system is a mandatory requirement for a residential building permit. In Bermuda RWH systems are regulated by a Public Health Act which requires that catchments be whitewashed by white latex paint; catchments, tanks, gutters, pipes, vents, and screens must be kept in good repair. Roofs are repainted every two to three years and storage tanks must be cleaned at least once every six years.

In Australia, states are giving rebates and subsidies for installations of RWH systems in an effort to reduce the consumption of municipal water supply. In fact from the following table 36% of households in South Australia are using RWH as the source of potable water supply.

Malaysian Scenario:

In Malaysia, the government shall promote the use of RWH by not only issuing regulations but need to look into financial incentives, rebates and subsidies to encourage the installations of RWH systems.

RWH is sustainable and shall be a part of the water supply system in Malaysia.

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Note: The author is a member of the International Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (IRCSA) which aims to promote and advance rainwater catchment systems technology with respect to planning, development, management, science, technology, research and education worldwide; It was founded in August 1989. Biannual international conference has been held since 1989 with the last in Sydney 2007.

The 14th International Rainwater Cistern Systems Conference will be held in Malaysia in 2009.

Check out the following websites related to RWH; http://www.ircsa.org/ ; http://www.irha-h2o.org/; http://www.arcsa.org/; ; www.skywater.jp/ ; http://www.eng.warwick.ac.uk/dtu/rwh/index.html;

View the video :

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I could not upload the foto to AYu's Blog on Global Warming... But here it is .. the reason why there is global warming....

EAT A BUG AND SAVE THE PLANET

EAT A BUG AND SAVE THE PLANET

“ANTS-ON-A-LOG, BEE BREAD, FLY-IN-THE-BATTER DESSERTS” followed by “BUG JUICE”. That was a full course dinner at a restaurant for lecturer [no charge] and students of KKA 5101 Environmental Management and Sustainability. The above restaurant needs to be realised soon to promote sustainability of the earth and survival of the human species.

I read this article in the local Cambodian ex-pat magazine, The Advisor ( 1$USD) while I was away in Cambodia attending to my consultancy work on the proposed new Malaysian embassy in Phnom Penh.

The world faces an ever increasing threat to food shortage. The population of the world is increasing with the present population just exceeding 6 billion and with UNDP estimates of 10 billion by 2050. The demand for biofuel has lent more stress on the availability of food for the world..

Although entomophagy (consumption of insects) are abhorring in the western world, in many other parts of the world, insects has always been a staple food. The article described a shop along Mao Tse Tung Boulevard, Phnom Penh , where eels are prepared with red weaver ants. The dish is coming back in fashion as the prices for conventional food have increased in price. Elsewhere, there are steamed silkworms, fried crickets, grasshoppers and beetles on sale at eateries. Fried Tarantulas is the country’s specialty famous around the world. The dish is served with lime sauce in a tourist restaurant. Steamed silkworms are available at $1.50 per 200gms in the Psar Thmei , main market . ( On my next visit to Cambodia, I shall visit the market and take some photos )

Other part of the world also enjoys entomophagy. The Thais in the northern region consume grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches and caterpillars as snack foods. Similarly in China and Korea, silkworms are fried and also consumed.

In parts of Africa, various species of insects are consumed alive or cooked.
In the town of Cotocollao, Ecuador, white beetles (scarabaeidae Cyclocephala) is cooked with vegetables. In South America, Longhorn beetles, larvae, Cicadas, Lemon Ants (Hormiga Culona), Grasshoppers ( Melanoplus Femurrubrum), Dragon Fly, Honey Bees, Termites and including mealworms are consumed and even added as a condiment or flavouring in food preparation. The tacos in Mexico are flavoured with crushed “jumiles” ( aka Stinkbugs ( Hermiptera Pentatomidae) which have a deep aromatic flavor like the taste of mint or cinnamon.

In Australia, the Oecophylla (Ants) are eaten as bushfood by eating live the abdomen of insects. It’s tasty with a sweet and sour flavour and considered thirst quenching.
A full list of “Insect Snacks from around the World “may be obtained from the link http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ythfacts/bugfood/yf813 : University of Kentucky Department of Entomology

Why should we be eating bugs ? Well according to the 2006 UN report “Livestock’s Long Shadow – environmental Issues and Options”, the livestock sector generates 18% more green house gases than the transport sector. The livestocks are a major contributor of methane gas to the atmosphere and also is responsible for emitting ammonia which causes acid rain. The livestock industry is ever increasing and presently occupies almost 30% of the worlds land surface.

The UN FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) is currently recommending developing nations to develop the potential of insects as food source and also into the export of this commodity to the world. Recently, the FAO organised a conference on entophomagy in Chiang Mai, Thailand in a bid to promote the consumption and rearing of insects.

Insects are high in protein and low in fat . In fact a 100 gms of crickets contain 12gms of protein and 5.5 gms of fat whereas beef contains 18% more protein but also 18% more fat as well. The amount of water required to grow 100gms of crickets is almost negligible as compared to the water consumed by the cattle in producing their meat.

Apart from direct consumption, the rearing of insects for production of feed stock also has great potential. As it is, the insects are already natural food for the chickens, ducks and other bird species. As such there is no question of their natural suitability as food for these animals. The insects can also be mixed with feed for livestock cattle to increase their protein content. Even fishmeal may be prepared form these bugs.

Insects are very efficient converters of plant matter into protein as compared to protein rich vegetation such as soybean, corn , etc. This means less impact on the environment when micro-livestock farming ( rearing of insects for food) is practiced on a wider scale to replace traditional farming. In fact , a David Gracier from Providence, Rhode Island, has set up Sunrise Land Shrimp, a micro-livestock farm in 2005 in the United States.

At Khon Khaen University, Thailand, the Thaïs have developed a low cost cricket rearing technique and has taught it to some 4,500 families. On a plot of a few hundred square feet, a family can raise crickets in large quantity to significantly improve their household income. The insects do not require much food or water and they reproduce extremely fast. In the event of disease or failure, the financial impact is not strong as compared to a loss of a single animal say a pig, cow or goat.

Finally there is much potential to exploit and further promote micro-livestock farming and the practice of entomophagy to contribute to the sustainability of the earth.

3rd August 2008.

OPENING REMARKS

This blog was created on 01 08 08 , as required by Dr Amran of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering, University Putra Malaysia as part of the coursework requirements on the topic Environmental Management and Sustainability.