Tanks for the Clean Water

Seems reasonable that, with so many houses built in deserts, on islands, or just anywhere off the grid, somebody would come up with a way to direct clean wastewater to places it was needed... such as the garden.

You know the water I'm talking about. The water that's the wrong temperature. The water you run until it's hot enough to scald Fido's water dish clean; then you run it until it's cool enough to refill the dish. Then there's that icewater that comes out of the shower nozzle until water from your water heater makes its way through the plumbing. 

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "It's called a HOT water heater, isn't it?"  And yes, it is called that. Incorrectly. Those appliances are to heat water. If it's already hot, who needs a heater?  However, that's what many call it. Common usage makes it right. I don't like it, but what do I know? After all, I started a sentence with "and" in this very paragraph. And that's not right either.

Getting back into the water, my first thought was a toggle switch labeled 'garden' and 'waste' for drains. When the water reaches the right temperature for lathering, rinsing, or whatever, simply toggle from 'garden' to 'waste.' Nice in theory. In practice... epic fail. Who's going to remember to 'toggle' before they've even had their morning shower?  ("Honey, why do our tomatoes taste like shampoo?")

Nor am I sure how the water would find its way to the garden. A colorful system of tubes, funnels, and buckets ("Mouse Trap™" meets "Dr. Seuss") leading to a holding tank? Somehow that sounds bad for resale value. Plus, an outdoor tank is an open invitation to mosquitos; so the tank might have to be in your den. ("Your computer is set up, Mr. Fenwick. I'll just put the modem here on your holding tank. Hey, do I smell shampoo?")

Clearly retro-fitting a solution is impractical and expensive. Houses should just be built differently. Why aren't they? Why are water heaters the farthest possible distance from everyplace you need hot water? Why can't houses process their own wastewater so all of it is garden-ready? (A shampoo-n-poo eradicator?)

We'll continue to juggle buckets and conserve where we can. Water heaters are already changing from tanks to tankless, though I imagine they'll still be placed at the farthest possible distance from the shower. The drought will eventually end, and my interest in water will only be as a refreshing beverage. From my "cold water cooler."