I was wondering if anyone knew the skinny about car washing in underground facilities in states that require water reclaiminig. I've been told the drains underground parking structures usually go to sewage pipes and not storm drains; if so, I'd think water reclaiming would not be necessary?
Washing in undergroung parking structures
- Thread starter RAG
- Start date
Setec Astronomy
Well-known member
Well, that would require the local sewer authority to process your car washing-related water at their sewage treatment plant, which you don't help to support with your business taxes if you find a convenient garage to wash in. I got into this once at work, we had a machine that had a water cooling jacket on it. We had an inspection by the sewer authority, who told me we couldn't discharge non-contact cooling water (water that doesn't come in contact with what's being cooled; in this case the water just ran through some copper pipes). I thought he must have said "contact cooling water", so I reiterated that this water was non-contact, and just as clean going out as it was coming in. He told me we WOULD be allowed to discharge contact cooling water, but were not allowed to do the same with non-contact as we would be using up their treatment plant capacity to pass through water that did not need to be treated. (Beauracracy at its finest? You can discharge dirty water but not clean!)
Anyway, although that sounds like a nice loophole, I'm pretty sure that unregulated business use of an underground garage in that manner would violate all manner of regulations.
Anyway, although that sounds like a nice loophole, I'm pretty sure that unregulated business use of an underground garage in that manner would violate all manner of regulations.
Excellent information Mike. Another guy (newer Autopian) and I are looking at putting together a bid for a semi-fixed location under a high-rise in the city. I wonder if there is some kind of permit that can be pulled, as we all know they don't give a rat's arse about anything except extrapolating money out of you. There's gotta be a way (without having to go the waterless wash route); if I had to, I'd go with ONR, but I'd rather not. Or I could reclaim (as I do now), but it's a real PITA in my experience.
AMDin93103
I like cheese.
RAG said:
This is Andrew's better half speaking... I'm a land use planner...
There are permits for just about anything you could ask for, and yes, it is for money purposes (taxes) as much as for regulating the types of businesses in your city. Your best bet, as I assume you will need to get a land use permit for the use of the underground facility to be a semi-permanent detailing biz, is to work with your city planner on getting the right permit (generally they are called "non-point source pollution discharge permits - or NPDES for short) from your local wastewater treatment plant. You may be required to put a special "catch" drain or drain cover on, but they usually aren't expensive ($50 or so). Expect to have to report to the Public Works dept. on some annual or biannual basis, or they may come out and inspect at times to make sure everything is doing what we know it already does, but beyond that hassle, you should be good to go!
HTH