EARTHWATCH : Gray Matter : Reusing household waste water, or gray water, is illegal in Ventura--but perhaps not for long.

Last week, I almost became a criminal. Here’s my warning to you, my fellow Ventura residents, lest you be facing temptation as I was.

I had returned from my visit to France filled with resolve to be environmentally active in several new ways. They’re also having a drought, and they’re amazingly disciplined about conserving water. Things were so severe in some towns that firetrucks had to cruise neighborhoods giving people water--they lined up to have it poured into plastic Evian bottles.

We all know that in Santa Barbara they’re already into using residential gray water, or waste water.

So, not to be outdone by folks up the coast or on the old Riviera, I resolved to wash my dishes in a pan and throw the resulting gray water on the rose bushes, as I had done in France. I even got around to calling a buddy, Art Ludwig, for advice on how to run the washer hose out to the yard toward the ornamentals. (Actually, he manufactures safe soaps and has a type that is beneficial to plants.)

Boy, am I glad I made that call before I went out with the dishpan. It’s illegal. Illegal in Ventura County, at least. If I were to traipse up to Carpinteria or take it with me when I visit friends in Morro Bay, that would be OK. But not here.

State law (the Uniform Plumbing Code) requires all household waste water to be discharged into a public sewer system unless the local plumbing code is modified to permit otherwise. That’s been done in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Ventura County has, in pursuit of water conservation ideas, looked into gray water (among a dozen other things). The city of Ventura is waiting for the county to take the lead in the gray-water matter. Up the coast, Goleta made the move first and the county followed. That may be the pattern in Los Angeles, where the City Council commences public hearings on gray water in two weeks.

Meanwhile, I’m left standing in my yard, watching it turn brown, while my sink and washer gurgle, seductively in the house, tempting me to a life of crime. Should I let this water get out on the lawn? Should I advocate illegal acts in the column. Tune in below.

Whew! I’ve just been saved by a fax machine. Here’s my way out of gray-water purgatory. Official writ has arrived in the nick of time. Quoting a city of Ventura info sheet: “Water customers in drought-stricken counties have been using gray water to irrigate for several years. Last November, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted to permit the use of gray water under certain guidelines. A pamphlet has been prepared by Larry Farwell, Goleta water conservation director and Robert Karick an adviser to the Goleta and Sonoma Water District. The pamphlet instructs customers to the safe use of gray water. The city of Ventura will make copies available as soon as they are ready. Until guidelines are established, the city water department recommends no gray-water use.”

Since possession of Mr. Farwell’s pamphlet is legal in Ventura, I’m publishing his phone number (with his permission), as well as the Ventura Water Conservation Hot Line number given on the info sheet. Also, returning to the matter of my buddy who makes “eco-soaps”: they’re street legal in Ventura. Lassens Health Foods and Green Thumb carry his line here. I also interviewed a Laundromat customer, Tammy Cruz, who told me they wash cleaner than other safe soaps. At least, I’ve gotten something out of this experience.