Comments on: Food Gatherers, Fiat Projects Move Forward

By: Steve Bean

Steve Bean — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:58:38 +0000

@7: All liquids that go into the sanitary system get treated equally, gray and black get mixed, and we’re charged by the volume.

By: TJ

TJ — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:37:32 +0000

Re @5: thanks for clarification on gray water and why it is an issue. I can see how it would be beneficial to divert some water from treatment by reducing overall use if possible.

About sewer: if all the irrigation water is going onto the crops (drip irrigation and very little if any runoff), would it even be a concern for sanitary sewer charges?

I’ve only helped in the FG garden a few times, but i think the vegetable washing mentioned is primarily the work inside, for “rescuing” produce from donors and some secondary cleaning of harvest. That uses city water and goes into the metering.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 19:35:18 +0000

Yes, I was wondering about that. There were one or two grandfathered irrigation wells in the city several years ago but we city residents are prohibited from having wells. I think it may be state law that if you are within reach of a municipal water system you may not have an independent well.

Perhaps the farm is in the township.

By: Steve Bean

Steve Bean — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 18:25:35 +0000

@4: The use of water is (somewhat) less of a concern/expense than the need to convey and treat the graywater through the sanitary sewer system. Interesting that GF can use a well, which I imagine would also complicate the city’s metering of sanitary sewer use since it’s usually based on water usage metered from the city drinking water system, AFAIK.

By: TJ

TJ — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 18:01:34 +0000

The 2010 Annual Report for Food Gatherers says 12,000/day, so perhaps that’s what the number was (maybe it was 15K/day in 2011?).

I’m curious about the suggestion to use gray water for irrigating. Gathering Farm gets water from a well on site (not the city water supply) – I wonder if the person who suggested it knew that?

By: Steve Bean

Steve Bean — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:36:46 +0000

Mary, I think you’re only part way there. Most likely those were daily meals for a year-long period, not just “or about 15,000 meals”.

By: Mary Morgan

Mary Morgan — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:09:01 +0000

Re. "5.75 million tons divided by 15,000 meals annually equals approximately 766,667 lbs per meal." You are correct, of course – I need to study my municipal math. Eileen Spring reported that 5.74 million pounds of food was distributed, not tons. Thanks for pointing out the error. It's been corrected in the article.

By: Matt Demmon

Matt Demmon — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:24:26 +0000

I’d like to see someone eat one of those meals! 5.75 million tons divided by 15,000 meals annually equals approximately 766,667 lbs per meal.