PowerAndWaterPod

Power and Water pod is one of the critical infrastructure pods that makes Automatic Subconscious camp as pleasant and comfortable as home. The pod provides and manages the following services to the camp:

Power and Water Pod

Leader: Hooch

Pod Members: Ike, SteveK, Doug, Cliff, Eric, Desicant

Finally! This is just what I was looinkg for.

You’re on top of the game. Thanks for sahirng.

Gray Water

The gray water pond with active evaporator, camp shower, and spare water barrel in foreground.

With the use of clean water to wash dishes and bodies comes the production of "gray water". Since there are no septic systems provided by Burning Man, each camp has to find a way to dispose of this mildly dirty, but clearly UN-drinkable water.

For as long as most of us can remember, there has always been an evaporation "pond" (aka. gray water pond) sitting in the middle of the camp, diligently evaporating this waste water into the air. A classic gray water pond consists of:

• A large, brown or black colored plastic tarp (10' x 20' in area; 5 to 15 mils in thickness)
• Enough wooden 2x4s (to line the perimeter of the tarp)
• A bunch of concrete blocks (to hold the 2x4s in place)

Bilge pump and hardware cloth system for evaporating gray water

After the gray water has been filtered thru a simple screen, it is disposed of in this pond area to let evaporate under the hot, dry sun. This system is moderately effective at evaporating gray water, but it has its problems:

1. As dust settles onto the greasy pond water, evaporation can frequently be hindered.
2. The pond can also be a breeding ground for bacteria and other illness vectors.

In 2007, Doug R. and Pretzel engineered an add-on to the gray water pond. This new addition was based on a proven design by previous Burner experience which utilized a bilge pump, 4-foot section of ½" hardware cloth (welded wire mesh), and a sheet metal cone. ( Original evaporator fountain design ) This design radically boosted evaporation rates and only had a few minor problems. The issue of bacteria and other vectors were handled by adding regular doses of chlorine bleach to the gray water. There are plans to automatically dispense chlorine bleach at a regular interval for 2008.

See the Power & Water: Gray Water page for more details on how to implement this.

PS: No peeing in the gray water pond.
PPS: No, I don't care how badly you have to go.
PPPS: No, you can't use my pee bottle. Go get your own, hippie.

That's the best asnwer of all time! JMHO

Inventory

Starting in 2009, we sorted and inventoried all of the Power and Water assets that are stored in Reno.  Here's the list.