Going green at the carwash
DEBBY ABE; The News Tribune
If you’re a fish, here’s an all-too-familiar summertime scene of horror: Humans sudsing up their cars on a steaming parking lot as toxic rivulets of soapy water, engine oil and grime gush down storm drains.
Soap compounds coat gills making it tough for fish to take in air, and more susceptible to the perils of petroleum and pesticides.
That’s why environmental educators with local governments are reminding car owners to use fish-friendly methods to wash their vehicles this summer:
Go to a commercial carwash. Wash cars on grass or gravel. Support a carwash fundraiser with environmentally sound water disposal.
Many people don’t realize that what goes down storm drains flows untreated into South Sound waterways, polluting the habitat of salmon, crabs and countless other sea critters, environmental educators say.
In fact, half of those surveyed in a recent Pierce County poll thought the water in storm drains was destined for treatment, said Teresa Lewis, education and outreach coordinator with Pierce County surface water management.
“We are trying to educate people,” Lewis said. “Anything that isn’t rainwater shouldn’t go into a storm drain.”
Pierce County is launching a campaign this month to promote its newly acquired set of six environmentally friendly carwash kits, which divert dirty car-wash water from storm drains to a lawn or into a utility sink that leads to a sewer treatment system.
The county will loan the kits for free to groups holding carwash fundraisers in unincorporated Pierce County.
“We’ll do a mass mailing to businesses,” Lewis said, “ ... to let them know if they’re going to allow a group to hold a charity carwash, we’d like that group to contact us and check out a free carwash kit.”
The City of Tacoma has been lending out similar kits for years. Orting started last year. Puyallup has three kits on order, and Sumner soon will have one available.
The cities are among the many jurisdictions redoubling efforts to publicize the public’s role in stopping pollution from getting into storm drains, as part of the localities’ compliance with the Clean Water Act.
They’re promoting natural yard care, installation of rain gardens and the proper disposal of dog poop and hazardous materials.
“A lot of people don’t think my one little carwash will do harm,” said Alicia Lawver, spokeswoman for City of Tacoma environmental services. But, she said, “It all adds up. Everything we do as individuals benefits or hurts the waterways.”
ECO-FRIENDLY WAYS TO CLEAN
Summer is the prime season for washing cars, which if done improperly can send thousands of gallons of polluted water in a single day into Commencement Bay, the Puyallup River and other South Sound area bodies of water.
In contrast, clean water advocates say commercial carwashes are good options for protecting and conserving water. They are required to properly dispose of waste water, and many firms filter and recycle the water.
Lewis said a commercial carwash typically uses 15 to 60 gallons of water to wash a car versus 16 to 180 gallons of free-running water used at home. Meanwhile, a charity carwash can drink up 3,000 gallons or more, depending on the number of vehicles washed.
Still, cars can be bathed properly at home. Washing them on lawns or gravel allows the yucky water to soak into the ground for filtration, and the soap doesn’t hurt the grass, environmental educators said.
Nonprofit groups can save elbow grease by selling carwash tickets from the Puget Sound Car Wash Association. It sells groups $2 coupons that the nonprofits can resell at a higher price and keep the profit.
Ticketholders get their cars washed at one of the association carwashes listed on the ticket. The carwash owners don’t receive cash from the tickets, but sometimes end up with new customers, association executive director Elly Snow.
“It’s an environmentally conscious way to raise very good money. It’s a higher return than other fundraising products, without the complications of having a parking lot carwash,” Snow said. “There’s less liability, too. Having kids in traffic is not the safest thing.”
Nonprofit groups are starting to realize the value of green carwashes.
Last year, they sold nearly 7,800 association tickets in Pierce County, Lewis said.
Sumner School District for several years has required that carwash fundraisers on school property use one of the district’s fish-friendly carwash kits. School groups holding off-site carwashes are encouraged to do so at a commercial carwash or use the kit.
The Al Davies Boys & Girls Club Express Football Team washed cars nine Saturdays this summer at the 76 Royal gas station at Center and Orchard streets. Tacoma has one of its fish friendly carwash kits permanently available at the station.
Shelley Simon, whose son Marcel Huggins is on the tackle football team, said she learned about the importance of environmentally sound carwashes from a Tacoma utilities newsletter.
“We chose that place because it is environmentally friendly and they’re nice to work with,” Simon said of the 76 Royal station.
Owner Gurcharan Chatha said he’s been letting nonprofit groups wash cars at his station for 15 years. He charges a fee to cover expenses, and the fundraisers help generate business.
His main motivation? “I give (the opportunity) to church, football teams, and youth groups to help the kids do something good,” he said.
Express Football Team members, who are boys 10 and younger, hoped to raise $5,000 this summer to pay for uniforms, gear and other costs, Simon said.
Most days, they pulled in $550 a Saturday in donations, more than enough to cover the station’s $60-a-day fee plus soap and sponges. But after their final wash, on Saturday, they had cleared just $3,400. Donors wishing to help them make their goal can call Simon at 253-414-4434.
“This year we’re having a lot of trouble getting sponsors because of the economy,” she said, “but we’ll make sure those kids have what they need when they hit the field.”
Debby Abe: 253-597-8694
debby.abe@thenewstribune.com
blogs.thenewstribune.com/street
Washing your car the environmentally friendly way
• Use a commercial carwash. They’re required to properly dispose of waste water so that it will be treated.
• At home, wash vehicles on grass or gravel. Make sure the water seeps into the ground, not into the storm drain or waterway.
Use a hand spray nozzle with an on and off trigger to conserve water. Use chlorine-free, phosphate-free biodegradable soap, but remember it still should not go into the storm drain.
For carwash fundraisers:
• Call your city or county public works department to see if they loan fish-friendly carwash kits.
The kits typically include hoses and a sump pump that’s placed into a storm water catch basin. When the basin fills with water, it’s pumped to a sanitary sewer cleanout, a utility sink or to landscaping.
In Tacoma, call 253-502-2220 or go to
tinyurl.com/washkit. In unincorporated Pierce County, call 253-798-2725. In Orting, call 360-893-2219, ext. 139. Puyallup will soon have information on its kits at
www.cityofpuyallup.org.
• Buy discount tickets through the Puget Sound Car Wash Association and sell them for a profit. Ticketholders get their car washed at an association member. For information, call 1-800-509-WASH (9274) or go to
www.charitycarwash.org
• Ask carwash businesses if they let nonprofit groups hold fundraisers at their site.
More information about environmentally friendly carwashes is available at
www.piercecountywa.org/carwash.
Debby Abe, The News Tribune
