Please Keep Local Salmon in Mind When You Wash Your Car
Commercial Washes, Salmon-friendly Kits and Washing on the Lawn Are Ways To Avoid Polluting

For immediate release: 8/4/08
For more information, Contact: SPU Customer Service, (206) 684-3000

SEATTLE — Getting ready to wash that dirty car in your driveway? Before you do, think about the possible impact on local salmon and wildlife.

Soap — even biodegradable soap — can harm fish. So as part of Mayor Greg Nickels’ Restore Our Waters strategy to improve the quality of urban waterways — and, ultimately, Puget Sound — Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is recommending that you know where the soap will drain before you start washing your car.

Because salmon migrate back to local streams each summer to spawn, the quality of the water in those streams is often the main factor in their reproductive success.

Fish are more vulnerable to detergent from car washes in waterways during low-flow periods; and the year’s lowest flow period typically occurs in August and September — the time when most salmon return to the Puget Sound area streams to spawn. You can help salmon by washing your car one of three ways this summer:

1. Wash at a commercial carwash vendor that reclaims water used in the washing process.

2. Support a charitable car wash that uses a Salmon-friendly Car Wash Kit, or is located at a site that drains directly into the sewer.

3. Wash your car at home — on the lawn (or another absorbent surface), dispose of soapy water down the sink, or ensure the drains in your neighborhood do not connect to local waterways. (You can contact the Resource Venture, at (206) 343-8505, to learn whether your drains lead to a local waterway or a King County treatment plant.)

Unlike household wastewater that enters your sewer and is treated before being discharged into the environment, soap and oily grime that run off your car could potentially enter storm drains and flow into the Puget Sound.

Chemicals in detergents used for car washing can destroy fish’s mucus membranes, which contain natural oils that fish need to stay healthy. Detergents can also damage the gills which fish need to “breathe”.

Many professional car wash firms, such as Brown Bear and members recommended by the Puget Sound Car Wash Association (PSCWA), apply environmental practices at their facilities. For example, they settle out solids and associated pollutants from car wash water before it is discharged and piped to a wastewater treatment facility. And most locations also conserve water by reusing it during the wash cycle.

Look for the Bert the Salmon carwash coupon in your July SPU bill. The discount is redeemable at any Puget Sound Car Wash Association (PSCWA) member location, including the Elephant car washes in Seattle and Burien.

The PSCWA and Brown Bear both have programs that offer charities low price tickets to sell at fundraisers.

Fundraisers and businesses can call SPU’s Resource Venture service at (206) 343-8505 for details on how to get a Salmon-friendly Car Wash Kit. The kits help the environment by redirecting polluted water from storm drains to sewer lines that lead to King County treatment facilities. They are free (however, a returnable deposit is required) and easy to use.

Visit the Seattle Public Utilities website to learn more about car washing and keeping our local waterways healthy for people and salmon.

In addition to providing a reliable water supply to more than 1.3 million customers in the Seattle metropolitan area, SPU provides essential sewer, drainage, solid waste and engineering services that safeguard public health, maintain the city’s infrastructure and protect, conserve and enhance the region's environmental resources.

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Seattle Public Utilities