This local city is giving residents free car washes to keep them from doing it at home
Fife residents can get free car washes this summer.
The city partnered with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and Marine View Ventures to offer residents two free drive-thru car washes from Tahoma Market at 6006 Pacific Highway E.
Marine View Ventures is the “economic development arm” of the tribe, according to the organization’s website.
Residents can expect to receive a postcard in the mail with two codes, which they can redeem at Tahoma Market from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30 this year. Postcards will be issued by the end of July. The price for a car wash is usually $12.
The total cost of the car wash program will depend on how many codes are redeemed, Vigoren said. It will be split evenly between the city and the tribe, he said. The city will use funds from its stormwater utility fees.
This year marks the second time the city has offered two free car washes to its residents. Last year, the city issued 8,812 postcards. Only 1,790 codes or about 20 percent were redeemed. The city and tribe spent about $52,000 each for that year’s car wash.
With this, the city hopes to encourage residents to wash their cars at a facility rather than at home. Oil, grease and grime flow into storm drains and into nearby creeks, rivers and Commencement Bay when people wash their cars at home, according to the city’s website.
“This is part of our public education outreach. … If (liquid is) running off your driveway or from your car it’s gonna go to the nearest catch basin,” Public Works Director Greg Vigoren said.
People typically use between 80-140 gallons of water when they wash their car at home, according to the city’s website. Car wash facilities use less than that. Tahoma Market uses 27 gallons per car.
Tahoma Market also cleans and sanitizes the water it uses. A commercial vendor pumps the entire system once a month, cleaning the water before it goes into the sewer. This helps ensure chemicals do not make it to local waterways.
