Fourth-grade students at Indian Ridge Elementary School in Aurora, Colo., are on the verge of winning national recognition for creating a program designed to curb residential carwashing in their area and promote the environmental effectiveness of commercial carwashes. With the help of a city staffer from Federal Way, Wash., the students crafted their program using Federal Way as a model and submitted their idea as an entry in Project Citizen, an education program sponsored by the Center for Civic Education and the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The students won first place in May during a Project Citizen event in Denver and will represent Colorado at the National Project Citizen Showcase July 25-28 in Louisville, Ky.

The students began their project understanding that residential carwashing and charity carwash events can send large volumes of wastewater down storm drains and eventually into natural waterways. An Internet search for background information led them to Federal Way, which offers organizations a fish-friendly program using carwash kits that divert wastewater into the sanitary sewer.

The city made headlines last year when it published a report showing the ill effects residents have when they wash their cars on impervious surfaces without properly disposing wastewater. Officials measured the pollutants created by five weekend charity carwash events held in 2007 and 2008 and then estimated the annual amount of residential carwashing that occurs in the city.

Federal Way officials estimate that 190 gallons of gasoline, diesel and motor oil; 400 pounds of phosphorous and nitrogen; 60 pounds of ammonia; 2,200 pounds of surfactants and nearly 34,000 pounds of dissolved and suspended solid wastes are deposited annually into the city’s storm water drainage system as a direct result from residential carwashing.  Read Entire Article from Modern Car Care

City council passes new ordinance

A new ordinance presented at the Gainesville City Council work session Thursday would make recycling water a requirement for new car washes, but local car washing businesses may already make it a priority.

At the work session, Environmental Services Administrator Horace Gee presented the new ordinance, which requires car washes built after the ordinance takes effect in January to recycle water.

The ordinance puts the city in compliance with new Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District requirements.

The new ordinance would go into effect Jan. 1, but it needed to go before the council sooner to bring the city into compliance with an audit from the Environmental Protection Division, said Kelly Randall, Public Utilities Department director.

“It’s just good business when it comes to water,” Randall said. “It shows communities in the rest of the state that we are good stewards of our water.”

Gee said most area car washes already recycle.

“It’s not really anything new to our area,” Gee said. “If you drive up and down the streets, you see car washes advertising $3 and $4 car washes. They couldn’t do that without a re-use system. It’s really nothing new; it’s just bringing us into compliance with the ordinance division.”

Randall offered a similar perspective.

“Our community was really in compliance, and the business community who runs the car washes, they already are good stewards of the water,” Randall said.

For Gainesville’s Diamond Auto Spa & Lube, recycling is just another part of the daily operation.

“Most people don’t realize that the majority of the water that’s used in a conveyor car wash is recycled water,” said Scott Ballard, Diamond’s director of operations and marketing.

He said fresh water is used as the car enters the system and when the car leaves the tunnel, but for everything else in between, the water has been recycled.

Nearly 100 percent of the fresh water the company uses is recycled through its system, Ballard said.

He cited such efforts as the company’s Diamond Promise Program, which allows groups to have fundraising events at the car wash instead of doing a traditional parking lot car wash fundraiser, which Ballard said wastes more fresh water.

He said car wash companies in Atlanta and the surrounding area also banded together during the height of the drought to form a coalition of car wash businesses committed to conserving water.

“The car wash community at large is very conscious about water conservation and water usage and doing things not only locally but statewide to support that effort,” he said.

Charity carwash events, often held in driveways and parking lots, are being shut down or discouraged across North America due to their negative environmental impact.

In San Ramon, CA, city and county officials are working to stop driveway washing altogether, according to the San Ramon Patch.

The June 17 story said charity washes without proper environmental precautions have been banned a few area business have already been cited for washing cars. Steven Spedowfski, the city’s storm water program manager, said in the story, “it would be safe to say residential carwashing would be restricted” within the next five to 10 years.

Spedowfski said residents should instead take their car to a carwash.

Charity washes in Abbotsford, British Columbia have been banned, a NEWS1130 reported.

The June 17 story said the ban went into effect in April due to water shortage issues. City worker Tracy Kyle said in the story, “On out peak days last year, even with an outdoor watering ban…we were at about 90 per cent of our capacity. We are working to get another water source online and that could take another five years.”

Click here to read the full article on charity car washes.

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We are a locally-owned and operated business that is ready to provide you with the best service available in the cleaning industry.

If you live in the Sugar Hill area, visit our convenient location on Buford Drive.

Diamond Auto Spa is THE choice for your car cleaning and detailing needs. And we offer a wide array of choices that will have your car back to looking brand new.

At Diamond, we feature four levels of cleaning that includes this assortment of options:

• Soft Cloth Wash
• Vacuum
• Clean Windows
• Dust Dash & Console
• Hand Dry
• Wheel Cleaning
• Blue Coral Velocity Clear Coat Protectant
• Single Clear Coat Treatment
• Ozium Air Freshener
• Black Magic Tire Shine
• Double Clear Coat Treatment
• Undercarriage Wash
• Rain-X Complete (upon request)
• Blue Coral Triple Treatment
• Dress Interior with Blue Coral Creme Protectant
• Surface Clean Mats

We are a locally-owned and operated business that is ready to provide you with the best service available in the cleaning industry.

In Oakwood, we’re conveniently located off Georgia Highway 53, near I-985 exit 16.

Take your car to the best car wash in Gainesville: Diamond Auto Spa

Diamond Auto Spa is THE choice for your car cleaning and detailing needs. And we offer a wide array of choices that will have your car back to looking brand new.

At Diamond, we feature four levels of cleaning that includes this assortment of options:

• Soft Cloth Wash
• Vacuum
• Clean Windows
• Dust Dash & Console
• Hand Dry
• Wheel Cleaning
• Blue Coral Velocity Clear Coat Protectant
• Single Clear Coat Treatment
• Ozium Air Freshener
• Black Magic Tire Shine
• Double Clear Coat Treatment
• Undercarriage Wash
• Rain-X Complete (upon request)
• Blue Coral Triple Treatment
• Dress Interior with Blue Coral Creme Protectant
• Surface Clean Mats

We are a locally-owned and operated business that is ready to provide you with the best service available in the cleaning industry.

In Gainesville, we’re located conveniently off Thompson Bridge Rd., near Lakewood Baptist Church.

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We are a locally-owned and operated business that is ready to provide you with the best service available in the automotive industry.

Find the location that is right for you today!