The Effects of Greywater on Radish Plant Growth

Introduction

Global temperatures are on the rise and scientists and environmentalists alike are
desperate now more than ever to find a solution to the problem of the scarcity of potable water.
Indeed, novel approaches to the problem have been considered, but these techniques usually

require significant funding in order to have a wide scale impact. But rather than focusing on
innovation, what people should really be focusing on is conservation.
The average American family uses up to at least 300 gallons of drinking water a day, and
at least 15% of that amount is devoted to watering lawns and gardens1. Adding to this problem
is the fact that most people do not realize that grey water, which is the water that comes out of
drains, showers, baths, sinks, washing machines, and other kitchen appliances, can be reused
to water houseplants. As a result, they tend to waste such grey water and let it go down the
drain, rendering it useless as it goes through the municipal water treatment process.
Switching to grey water as a source to water our plants can reduce stresses on water
demands and give natural processes more time to replenish our freshwater supplies. Ultimately,
we would be able to save up enough potable water to distribute to people living in areas of hot
summers, dry weather, and drought. The aim of this paper is to assess grey waters potential as
a viable source of nourishment for plants in comparison to tap water. By studying the effects of
grey water and tap water on the growth of radish plants, we can at least ascertain whether grey
water can substitute tap water as a means of watering plants.
. Due to the presence of certain organic compounds in grey water that may prove crucial
to a plants development, the plants exposed to grey water solution would most likely
experience greater rates of growth than those exposed to tap water. These compounds can
easily decompose in the soil into nutrients and minerals which can be absorbed by the radish
plant through its root system.
Given grey waters highly variable chemistry dependent on the source of the water and
the activities done by the person(s) who used the water, several outcomes are possible during
the radish plant experiment2. However, based on the fact that the grey water used in the
1 "US Outdoor Water Use | WaterSense | US EPA." 2016. 27 Jul. 2016
<https://www3.epa.gov/watersense/pubs/outdoor.html>

2 "Greywater." 2006. 27 Jul. 2016 <http://www.lanfaxlabs.com.au/greywater.htm>

experiment came from laundry, we can eliminate most of those outcomes to just a few. In one
scenario, grey water may hinder the radish plants ability to grow. Trace amounts of chemicals
such as detergent and bleach in grey water can increase the tonicity of the plant. This could
cause water to exit the plant cells and subject them to plasmolysis, which in turn would cause
cells to die from dehydration. However, in another case, grey water could bolster the radish
plants growth (as hypothesized above) because the presence of organic compounds such as
soil, human tissue, and certain food particles along with water may be able to provide the radish
plants with the extra nutrients it needs to thrive.

Materials and Methods

Six radish seeds of the same brand were placed into their respective peat pots and
planted well into the potting soil in those pots. The seeds were allowed to germinate for two
weeks, placed under artificial fluorescent lights controlled by timer set to switch on the lights
from 9am to 6pm (designed to simulate real-time sunlight conditions) and watered adequately
twice a week. After the seeds had developed prominent shoots, the heights of the six plants
were measured using a ruler (in centimeters) and recorded as data. Three of the plants were
chosen to be part of the control group, labeled as 1, 2, and 3. These three plants would be
watered only with tap water, albeit in different concentrations (that is, 1 ml, 2 ml, and 3 ml
respectively). The other three plants were chosen to be part of the experimental group, labeled
as A, B, and C. These plants, on the other hand, would be watered with greywater, in
concentrations similar in fashion to the control group. Using a burette, the tap water and
greywater were added to the plants in the amounts designated for each plant. After the radish
plants had been watered, they were placed back under the fluorescent lights. Plant heights were

recorded every day (except on the days when we did not have lab) for the entire week. The
plants were watered again halfway through the experiment

Results

Based on the data collected from the experiment, radish plants watered with
greywater appeared to experience relatively similar growth rates compared to
plants watered with tap water, although the experimental plants had slightly greater
heights on average compared to the control plants. All six of the plants experienced
total height changes ranging from 4 cm to 5.5 cm. The plants that had the greatest
change in height were Plants C and 1 (height = 5.5 cm) whereas the plants that
had the smallest change in height were Plants A, B, and 3 (height = 4 cm). The
statistical average growth rate for the plants watered with greywater is

approximately 0.594 cm/day while the average growth rate for the plants watered
with tap water is approximately 0.573 cm/day.

Discussion

The results from the radish plant experiment showed that the plants treated with grey water
grew at a relatively similar rate to those treated with tap water, although the grey water plants
developed slightly more than the tap water plants. From this sole observation, we can therefore
conclude that our hypothesis was validated that plants can thrive when watered with grey
water in comparison to tap water.
However, the sheer lack of data given the small timeframe to observe the plants may
have skewed our data. The experiment ran for only a week; however, radish plants take up to
around 1-2 months to mature completely3. The subtle difference in growth rates between the
experimental and control groups may have due to the insufficient lack of data and the fact that
the grey waters effects on the plants hadnt reached its full prominence during the course of the
week. Therefore, the best way to fix this error would have been to extend the timeframe of the
experiment to at least a month.
Another source of error that may have affected our data comes from the amount of liquid
that we watered for each of our plants. Because the volume of the soil was restricted to small
peat boxes, we could only use very small amounts of liquid to pour into the radish plants. If we
were to use more than 5 ml of a liquid, the soil could become waterlogged and would cut off the
air supply to the plants roots, killing them within the next few days4. However, because we could
3 "How Long Does it Take for Radishes to Germinate? | Home Guides ..." 2013. 28 Jul. 2016
<http://homeguides.sfgate.com/long-radishes-germinate-68498.html>

4 "Why too much water is as harmful to plants as not ... - Chicago Tribune." 2015. 28 Jul. 2016
<http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/home/ct-sun-0726-garden-morton-20150720-story.html>

only use at most 3 ml of grey water and tap water, the radish plants would quickly absorb the
water contents of the liquid within the day and would remain dehydrated for the rest of the week.
Moreover, the plants root systems may have been constricted by the size of the pot, hence
leaving with very little space to gather nutrients. In the end, it could explain why we observed
uneven growth rates for each plant during certain intervals in the week. We could use larger
peat pots that can hold greater amounts of soil in order to coorrect for this error.
The different initial conditions for each of the plants may have also created some
inconsistencies in our data. Each plant had started out with different heights ranging from 4-7
cm. This could mean that each plant had different metabolic rates and therefore grew at
different rates5. It could be the reason as to why there does not seem to be an obvious
correlation between the amount of a liquid poured and the plants total change in height.
These findings hold very serious implications about the future of conservation efforts for
they not only prove to be financially promising, but they can help impact the environment in a
positive way. With global warming becoming an international concern as droughts quickly
spread across the world, plants in ecosystems are slowly losing their access to a reliable water
supply. Humans, and many other animals alike, have developed a interdependence with plants:
without these plants, life as we know it would not be sustainable. But by giving plants the water
that need to thrive, we also increase humankinds chances of survival for the centuries to come.

Appendix

5 "Factors affecting plant growth." 2012. 28 Jul. 2016 <http://broome.soil.ncsu.edu/ssc051/Lec3.htm>

Literature Citation

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Jul. 2016 <http://homeguides.sfgate.com/long-radishes-germinate-68498.html>
"Why too much water is as harmful to plants as not ... - Chicago Tribune." 2015.
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"Factors affecting plant growth." 2012. 28 Jul. 2016

<http://broome.soil.ncsu.edu/ssc051/Lec3.htm>