Beyond the Curb – Water Conservation
Quick Links:
Learn more about water conservation, drinking water, water quality reporting, stormwater management, and flood control in your city:
Gonzales Public Works
Greenfield Public Works
Soledad Public Works
In The Garden
Quick Link: “Healthy Gardening” from Salinas Valley Recycles (Information on backyard composting, composting with worms, grasscycling, and less toxic gardening.)
Ask any gardener today why they garden, and you’ll get a variety of reasons why it’s important. Garden to learn, garden to be creative, garden for exercise, etc. For many people, their home garden is an escape. It is a hobby that they enjoy and helps them return to nature in the middle of their bustling lives. There are many things that can be done in your home garden that you can change from being detrimental to our environment to beneficial! Whether it is growing an organic garden, starting a backyard composting system, worm composting, collecting rainwater, or even just planting drought-tolerant plants, gardening will make a difference in the environment and your family's health.
Car Washing
Few people realize that washing our cars in our driveways is one of the most environmentally unfriendly chores we can do around the house. Washing your car is only a problem if you don’t know where or how to do it correctly. Not only does a commercial car wash use up to 60% less water than the average homeowner, but it recycles the water and eliminates the possibility of allowing what runs off from your car to go right into storm drains -- and eventually into rivers, streams, creeks, and wetlands where it poisons aquatic life and wreaks other ecosystem havoc. After all, that water is loaded with a witch’s brew of gasoline, oil, and residues from exhaust fumes -- as well as the harsh detergents used for the washing itself.
Washing dirt and winter grime off vehicles might actually be harming our local waterways. Unlike household waste water that enters sewers or septic systems and undergoes treatment before it is discharged, what runs off from your car goes right into the storm drains. Pollution associated with car washing degrades water quality while finding its way into sediments, impacting aquatic habitats.
What you can do?
Best Practice: Go To The Car Wash
The best way to minimize the effect washing your car has on the environment is to use a commercial car wash. Most locations reuse wash water several times before sending it to a treatment plant. If you choose to wash your car at home, read below about some things that you can do to minimize the water quality impact.
Choose Your Soap Wisely:
Use biodegradable, phosphate-free, water-based cleaners only. Car wash soaps and dish detergents contain what are known as "surfactants". These are used to help break the surface tension of the dirt particles on your car. Many car wash soaps on the market use phosphates or petro-based chemicals as surfactants. So, when you wash down the car, all the pollutants from your vehicle are contained in the water. These include brake dust, oils, exhaust fumes, and other nasty contaminants. While your car may look great when you're done washing, we must consider where all that soapy water has gone.
Play On The Lawn:
Wash on an area that absorbs water, such as gravel or grass. This can filter water before it enters groundwater, storm drains, or creeks. Even when using environmentally friendly cleaners, it is better to avoid the driveway and instead wash your car on your lawn or over dirt. By washing your car on the lawn, you provide a filter for the soapy water. Grass and other plants absorb the chemicals and other contaminants, thereby reducing the number of pollutants that end up in the storm drain. The root systems of plants can tolerate much more than aquatic insects and fish.
Raise Funds a Better Way:
Groups planning a fundraising car wash event should know that they might be violating clean water laws if run-off is not contained and disposed of properly. For groups planning a car wash fundraiser, we recommend partnering with a commercial car wash facility. Consider a fund-raiser to sell tickets redeemable at a local car wash, enabling the organizations to still make money while keeping dry and keeping local waterways clean.
Clean It Up:
After washing your car, always empty wash buckets into sinks or toilets, where they will filter to the sanitary sewer for treatment. Also, try to sop up or disperse those sudsy puddles that remain after you’re done. They contain toxic residues and can tempt thirsty animals. You can keep your car clean and attractive-looking while taking care of the environment simultaneously! It is so easy!
Commercial Car Washes Conserve Water:
Professional, commercial car washes use water management technology developed through industry and university research that enables them to wash cars thoroughly with a fraction of the water a home car wash uses.
High-pressure nozzles and pumps at car washes are designed to get the most use out of water flow.
Special pressure nozzles mix 50% air with water to create pressure without volume.
A ten-minute home wash can use as much as 140 gallons, based on engineering studies that show a 5/8” hose running at 50 psi uses 14 gallons of water per minute (WCA figures).
Professional car wash equipment can clean a car in just a few minutes, using between 15 and 60 gallons, depending on the equipment used and whether it is a self-service or conveyor wash.
Car Wash Comparison With Other Water Uses:
Dripping faucet: 25-30 gals./day
Toilet flush: 5-7 gals.
10-minute shower: 25-50 gals.
Washing machine at top water level: 60 gals.
Brushing teeth: 2 gals. (Yikes! Turn off the faucet while you brush)
For most people, their car is their second most valuable asset. Keeping it clean extends its life.Commercial car washes provide jobs for people in the Salinas Valley and significantly contribute to its tax base.
The discharge from driveway and parking lot car washing is composed of oils, grease, elements from brake linings, rust, trace amounts of benzene, and possibly chromium. Adding soap to the mix introduces phenols, dyes, acids, and ammonia.
Best Practices for Washing Cars at Home:
Wash your car on a grassy surface to minimize the runoff. Be sure not to inconvenience pedestrians.
You can wash your car in the driveway if it drains onto a lawn or garden area. Never do this if the water runs into a street or a storm drain.
When you wash your car, you must ensure that the area does not drain into the stormwater system, including the street drains.
If you can’t reasonably avoid washing the car over impervious surfaces (for example, in apartment communities), block off the storm drains and divert the runoff water to the sanitary sewer or a safe recharge area.
If there is no suitable area to wash your car, look for an alternative area. Maybe one of your friends or neighbors has a suitable ground.
Service stations can provide suitable areas for car washing. The best place to wash your vehicle is a self-serve car wash, where the runoff water is treated to remove pollutants before entering the sewer.
When washing your car, use a trigger hose, hoses with automatic shut-off nozzles, or at least a bucket to save water.
Don’t use too much detergent or soap. If you prefer detergents they should be biodegradable low- and no-phosphate (check the label).
The wastewater must be disposed of onto a lawn or garden.
Wash your car once, a maximum of twice a month, and reduce the number of cleaning products per wash.
