Waste Water Regulations & Ways To Comply?

C

CharlesW

The Rainmaker
At this time, I think the professional detailers are the only ones being targeted for waste water reclaim, but the law is so written that it may someday affect all of us that wash cars.
Just a few questions.
1. If you wash your vehicle where the runoff goes in your yard, are you complying? It isn't going into the storm sewer.
2. Obviously, a waterless wash like Poorboy's Spray & Wipe should be exempt.
3. Will a rinseless wash like ONR or 4-in-1 work? The little bit of wash solution that gets on the driveway at my house is going to evaporate long before it reaches a storm sewer.
4. Will a simple dam arrangement to divert the runoff into the yard make them happy.

Yeah, I know it's about as silly as worrying about $4 or $5 a gallon gasoline, but it could happen. :D
 
This may be totally off topic Charles and fogive me for posing this question on top of yours, but your post got me to thinking....The State Of Texas allows oil companies and the drilling rigs they employ to costruct earth pits without plastic liners the size of an entire city block where they dump waste mud such as oil base and waterbase all of which contain chemicals like hydrochloric acid , oil and other very dangerous chemicals that in my opinion are way more harmful to our rivers, streams, and water table than the citric acid based degreasers and cleaners that are in the detailing products we use. Why is the EPA so worried about a biodegradable product that will break down way before it gets into our streams and water table? :hmmm: :huh:
 
To be honest I don't know what the waste water regulations are in my area.
I am able to wash my car on my lawn and there is no fear of the runoff ever getting to the storm sewers.

But along the same line of thinking as sjr I am wondering about the concern of the runoff. Is my one or two ounces of product diluted in a few gallons of water going to be that bad, considering that it is diluted even more by the rinse water. It seems minuscule by comparison to the things that will wash down those same drains during a storm (oils, antifreeze, etc...)
 
As with most government mandated programs, the regulations are not terribly easy to interpret.
The federal regulations may very possibly already apply to all of us and the fact that they are not enforced everywhere is all that keeps car washing from being a problem.
As far as the concentration of pollutants involved, I agree that most car washing is not terribly bad for the environment.
The problems with that are many.
1. We may be wrong. It might be a much larger problem than we realize.
2. The people that draft these regulations usually have no idea as to what they are actually regulating.
3. As far as the oil company processes, two words, "money talks".
4. In fairness to the oil companies, the natural ground filtration is considered to clean up a lot of the contaminants from waste water. I do think they are subject to soil sample testing and might have to do a site cleanup if they don't pass that test.

While it isn't a problem everywhere, I do think it is being enforced in many areas. Wherever you are, you may be next in line.
 
If 2 ounces of soap from washing your car is not allowed down the drain what about washing clothes or taking a shower what will you do with that water.
 
black bart said:
If 2 ounces of soap from washing your car is not allowed down the drain what about washing clothes or taking a shower what will you do with that water.
Click to expand...

I believe that is different, that would go to a waste water treatment plant, where I belive that the storm drains empty out untreated.
 
If anything, the soap would help with breaking down the oil from the cars being washed into the drains. But I am sure soap is on the bottom of the list compared to degreasers and wheel acids and the like.
For over 6 months, I called, emailed, and called more about this issue in not only the county(s) I operate in, but statewide. From local agencies, to the Texas EPA, and more. No one was able to give me answers. The counties I work in said they have nothing in place as of yet, but would be better if I did reclaim. The EPA was no help. With being transferred back and forth, to no returned calls, I got nothing. I made my business clear and informed them that I would use less than 50 gallons of water at one location at a time. They said "ok". Washing in the grass is ok they say too.

But here in my town, storm drains are few and far in between. We hardly get rain. The waste water usually evaporates long before it comes in contact with any storm drain.
 
The only time that I wash my car is when it is in my garage and it all runs down the drain to the city treatment plant so I guess it is OK.

I'm sure they get a lot of soap in the city treatment plant
They just built a new one and now my water bill is 60 to 80 bucks a month.
 
I know this is a late respone. I contacted the EPA office when I first started in 2004. I let them know that I would be using a waste mat and had an would disposed in a local carwash. I was informed that this area did not have any regs on the matter. I found that a lot of condos appreciate the wash mat. I would contact the local EPA office.
 
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