Sending toxins down the drain

Commercial carwashes the greener way to clean

Alex Breitler
The Stockton Record
04/18/2008

STOCKTON - The parking lot carwash: It's the time-honored favorite American fundraiser.

Teenagers hoist handmade signs. Soap suds cling to their arms. They grab tangled hoses and rinse - sometimes a car, more often each other.

While the tradition carries on each weekend throughout spring and summer, city officials are asking these baseball teams, cheerleaders, youth groups and other fundraising groups to consider a new kind of carwash - one where you don't get wet.

The city is funneling these groups toward professional washes, where soapy runoff is captured and treated rather than draining into storm drains and, ultimately, the Delta.

The city's awareness program is pushing fundraising groups to sign on with established businesses that will do all the grunt work, then return a portion of the proceeds to their project.

"We're just encouraging an environmentally friendly alternative," said Sharene Gonzales, Stockton's storm water outreach coordinator. "The city still wants to support these organizations. We just want them to be considerate of what can happen if pollution does enter the environment."

Soap, dirt, grime and car fluids are among the nasties that can slip down the drain during a parking lot car wash. Technically, this is a violation of city code.

Even biodegradable soap is a problem, because as it breaks down it uses oxygen needed by fish.

Wastewater at a commercial carwash is funneled into the city's sewer system, where it's treated before being released into the San Joaquin River.

Carwash owners have obvious reasons for interest in the city's new program.

Chris Buscaglia, owner of Stockton Auto Center Carwash on Hammer Lane, said he likes the idea of helping the community as well as the environment. He said he also wouldn't mind converting some of the 40-plus percent of car owners who normally avoid professional car washes.

Buscaglia said he gives charity groups carwash tickets that they can sell to supporters, who then have one week to get their wash.

"We're trying to cover our expenses - we're not making money" from these events, Buscaglia said. "It is good PR."

One interested patron is the Community Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, which is raising money to send 16 athletes, coaches and trainers to Houston this summer for the Beep Baseball World Series. The sport features a ball that beeps, allowing blind batters to swing with confidence.

Many a parking lot carwash has paid for past travels, said Bonnie Hamma, the center's operations manager.

"It's always like, there's got to be a better way," she said. "We think this program is great. We don't get wet, we don't get soapy and we don't mess up the storm drains in Stockton."

SOME IDEAS FOR A GREEN CARWASH

• Wash vehicles on grass or a gravel lot, using biodegradable soap. Soil and plants can filter out pollutants before they seep into the groundwater.

• If cars have to be washed on pavement, block off the storm drain inlet and use a pump.

• Try using waterless cleaners (for example, see www.ecotouch.net).

• Use a professional carwash. Call the city at (209) 937-8791 or visit the Western Carwash Association at www.wcwa.org.

• It's still OK to wash your car at home in Stockton, though officials recommend doing it on the grass or on gravel if possible.