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Community Car Washes and Water Quality

Community car washes can negatively impact water quality by releasing pollutants such as detergents, oil, and metals into groundwater or surface water through storm drains. This is a violation of water pollution laws. It is recommended to consider alternative fundraising methods or to hold car washes at commercial car washes where the water is treated. If holding a community car wash, the best options are to discharge the water to a sewer system with permission, pump the water to a treatment plant, or direct it to a permeable or vegetated area. Guidelines for safer car washing include using exterior washing only, hoses, biodegradable soap, and cold water.

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61 views

Community Car Washes and Water Quality

Community car washes can negatively impact water quality by releasing pollutants such as detergents, oil, and metals into groundwater or surface water through storm drains. This is a violation of water pollution laws. It is recommended to consider alternative fundraising methods or to hold car washes at commercial car washes where the water is treated. If holding a community car wash, the best options are to discharge the water to a sewer system with permission, pump the water to a treatment plant, or direct it to a permeable or vegetated area. Guidelines for safer car washing include using exterior washing only, hoses, biodegradable soap, and cold water.

Uploaded by

Haritharan Maniam
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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WMB-14

2003

Community Car Washes and Water Quality


Community car washes are a popular fundraising activity for many organizations across the
state. Few people realize, however, that this method of raising money can adversely impact
groundwater and surface water quality. Depending on the location of the community car wash,
pollutants such as detergents, oil, grease, salt, gasoline, and metals can infiltrate to contaminate
groundwater or drain directly to surface water bodies through storm drains and catch basins. The
untreated wash water harms plants and animals that live in streams, rivers, and lakes. For this
reason, unpermitted community car wash discharges are in violation of both federal and state
water pollution control laws. Because cost and delays make permitting unrealistic, other options
should be investigated.
Before organizing a community car wash, DES strongly recommends that you consider using
other fundraising methods. If you still decide to hold a community car wash event, please
consider one of the following options, in this order of preference:

Hold your event at a commercial car wash. Partnerships can be created with local
commercial car washes to use their facilities, or to sell tickets good for a car wash at their
location. Commercial car washes use much less water than community car washes, and
the wash water is typically treated and discharged to a municipal sewer system, where the
water receives additional treatment before being discharged to surface waters.

Contact your local wastewater treatment facility. Before the car wash event,
organizations should contact their local sewer district to determine if the water can be
discharged to a sanitary sewer or a combined sewer. In some towns and cities, there may
be catch basins or garage drains (public works or commercial garages) that are connected
to the sewer system. If so, holding car washes in these locations is desirable. Otherwise,
you may be able to arrange with the sewer district to create a basin or sump and route
your wastewater to a sewer manhole.

Contact a licensed septage hauler. In areas without a sewer or in communities without


wastewater treatment facilities, the wastewater may be pumped by a licensed septage
hauler from a plugged catch basin and trucked to a nearby wastewater treatment facility.
In this case, permission must be obtained from the wastewater treatment facility where
the wastewater is to be hauled and the local public works or highway department should
be contacted for assistance in plugging the catch basin.

Conduct the car wash on a permeable surface. Surface water impacts will be minimal
if you hold your car wash on a ball field or gravel area where the water will infiltrate into
the ground. Care should be taken to avoid areas within a wellhead protection area or

other well recharge areas because of pollution concerns. Obviously, this option and the
one below would not be feasible during the winter when the ground is frozen.

Direct water towards a vegetated area and away from storm drains and other
surface waters. If the washing must take place on a hard surface, water must be directed
away from areas that drain to surface waters. To accomplish this, storm drains can be
sealed and a pump can be used to direct the water to a level, grassy area where there is
enough room for all of the water to infiltrate.

In all cases, organizations and homeowners should adhere to the following guidelines:

Wash the exterior of the vehicle only. Engine, undercarriage, and transmission washing
is prohibited.

Use regular low-pressure garden hoses. Nozzles should be attached to all hoses to
conserve water and to provide some additional pressure. Nozzles with automatic shutoffs should be used to conserve water.

Use non-toxic, biodegradable, and phosphate-free cleaners. Soaps and detergents should
be used sparingly. Avoid using degreasing products, solvents, and tire cleaner products.
If there is a question whether a cleaning product is a potential contaminant, the DES
Groundwater Recharge Program can review the product ingredient contact the
Groundwater Recharge Program at (603) 271-2858.

Cold water is recommended aquatic life can be killed by sudden changes in


temperature.

For more information:


Kitsap County Public Works Department. 2003. Sound Car Wash website at
www.kitsapgov.com/sswm/carwash.htm. Kitsap County (WA) Public Works, Surface and Storm
Water Management Program.
Mercer, Kevin. 2002. Take me out to the carwash: successful residential and community-based
nonpoint-source pollution prevention. Stormwater: The Journal for Surface Water Quality
Professionals. Volume 3, Number 3: May/June 2002. Online at
www.forester.net/sw_0205_take.html
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2002. Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping for
Municipal Operations: Vehicle Washing website at
cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/menuofbmps/poll_18.cfm

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