Freezing temperatures?

My biggest concern about getting a gray water system going for my plants is having the water freeze up in the pipes outside causing it to back up into the house. Is there a standard methodology for mitigating this?

In this thread There is some good info on that.

There are several options for using greywater in freezing climates. We have a post on it here (on Greywater Action's site). Basically you want to keep the pipes free of water so it doesn't freeze! Some people divert into the septic/sewer in the winters, others use it all year long. The techniques you use will vary depending on the type of system you have. The post above discusses considerations for different systems.

Figure out how much water you consume. Over size the drain to the catchment, only allow a trickle to fill the grey bed, from your indoor storage and settlement catch. The better question is, how do I stop my filter from freezing? Moving water doesn't freeze. Gravity filters do. Indoor systems lend themselves to be stacked with hot water reclamation, and thermal mass storage. If all else fails, direct saturation via compost ditch will keep you from freezing. If it's so cold the water is freezing...what kind of plants are you watering, that they can survive freeze? Let's assume you are the 'average' person, excluding black water, you are at 200 gallons a day. Now, I expect you won't use that much. So let's hypothesize 40 gallons a day, that's a garbage can. Factor your filter flow, gpm, and outside storage and saturation capacity. Thats a lot of water. Hence why I say, big winter compost piles, with soaker hose drainage. Just my 2 cents. That nice wet steamy compost can be put to use to heat a decent sized hoop house. Workshop, or livestock barn.

put more landscape over it? maybe a hugel of sorts with a base that protects and permeates (water and heat) and perhaps also acts - at the inter-space-overlap - as a heat and cooling exchange...

thinking about that at my place, in 2 spaces (so far) - at the back edge where there's a small dam that is plantable but I have to see how deep the flood is next time and the other space encompasses the edge under the greenhouse frame, between inside and outside. Contemplating coco husk shredded at base and wondering about the ultimate heat and cold waste exchange mechanisms/temp ranges/different materials... Summer/winter. See this greenhouse spaceand this framework for the space visual.

Won't let me edit, so here is the revised version.

Figure out how much water you consume. Over size the drain to the catchment, only allow a trickle to fill the grey bed, from your indoor storage and settlement catch. The better question is, how do I stop my filter from freezing? Moving water doesn't freeze. Gravity filters do. Indoor systems lend themselves to be stacked with hot water reclamation, and thermal mass storage. If all else fails, direct saturation via compost ditch will keep you from freezing. If it's so cold the water is freezing...what kind of plants are you watering, that they can survive freeze? Let's assume you are the 'average' person, excluding black water, you are at 200 gallons a day. Now, I expect you won't use that much. So let's hypothesize 40 gallons a day, that's a garbage can. Factor your filter flow, gpm, and outside storage and saturation capacity. Thats a lot of water. Hence why I say, big winter compost piles, with soaker hose drainage. Just my 2 cents. That nice wet steamy compost can be put to use to heat a decent sized hoop house. Workshop, or livestock barn. P.s. in my experience, it's important to prefilter the grey water in winter, because!, if stored indoors, the waste will become stagnant, FAST, and if left to drain into a pit somewhere, which it will freeze, it makes a terrible awfully gross mess when it eventually thaws. I don't care how 'green' you are, it gets real nasty. Don't let expensive, hypothetical Internet blogs and pictures convince you...it's still really nasty water, and not pretty if designed inpromtly.

Thanks everyone. Gives me a little more to think on. I only really need the water in the summer so diverting to sewer might be the best thing in the short term, although I am notorious for forgetting those types of things until the cursing begins.

In my home, we use the bucket system. Shower water becomes clothes and car wash water, or flush water, or just garden or compost water. Clothes washing water is often reused as flush water. Winter is a struggle in freezing winter months. As I age (over 50) it becomes apparent I can't do this forever. And the coldest or most slippery days, it will remain in the house. So I need to find a better option for at least these times. I read a grey water book (1980s) a colleage at the time leant me and said it was the best thing he read recently. It was actually interesting and kept me reading (unlike the wiring book I could not follow). The codes around here have become more strict and I suspect I would understand more by reading up on this again.

Our ground freezes down 6 feet in the winter and stays that way for many months.  The soil is red clay for 92 1/2 feet down...gummy and sticky enough even the worms leave it alone.  We have about an inch of soil sitting on top.  Water table is 6" down so any holes dug fill with water that never drains...a friend tried to dig a basement once and the "swimming pool" lasted for years till it was finally emptied by another friend.  We have no heavy equipment and no electicity.  How can we do grey water here?  

If you are diffusing grey water in gummy clay, I think it would have to go directly into a living biomass that can use and disperse it. Some people say planting a mass of willows is effective (search this site for more info).

How do you handle your septic? Grey water can be used for flushing toilets. Maybe not useful for you, though, with no electricity and a very high water table.