Rules for car washes require no recycling

The standards are criticized by some, termed by others a long-term conservation effort

A certification program adopted by the Raleigh City Council last summer allows professional car washes to use 55 gallons of drinking water on a single vehicle.

That's 20 gallons more than the 35 gallons per day the council recently set as a goal for residents, who have not been allowed to wash cars at home for months.

The program, written by the North Carolina chapter of the Southeastern Carwash Association and brought to the council as a citizen task force recommendation, is seen by some residents as another example of Raleigh coddling commercial and industrial water customers during the drought.

"It almost makes me think the car wash business is in somebody's pocket on the City Council," said John Hamilton, who was shocked when a car wash employee told him about the 55-gallon limit.

Defenders of the program say it's a long-term conservation measure designed to encourage car washes to operate more efficiently. Under Raleigh's Stage 2 water rules, which took effect two weeks ago, car washes can remain open only if they are certified by Ed Buchan, the city's water conservation specialist.

"It was meant to save water every day of the year," said Charlie Bell, whose eight American Pride car washes in Raleigh are all certified and use less than 30 gallons of water per vehicle. "That program won't solve a drought."

Certification does not require a car wash to recycle or reclaim any water. A facility has to show only that it uses no more than 55 gallons per basic wash. A car wash can use more than 55 gallons on its premium services.

The certification sets no limit for self-serve car washes; they just need to install nozzles that use no more than 3 gallons per minute to qualify.

Buchan said 71 of about100 car washes using Raleigh water have become certified.

Certification no sweat

"They're almost all under 55 gallons," Buchan said. "Most anybody who's got their wits about them can get certified."

The Raleigh City Council is drawing up Stage 3 restrictions, which could mandate the closing of all car washes. The council has yet to establish guidelines for when Stage 3 might take effect.

Council member Philip Isley said the certification program has helped conservation efforts more than it has hurt them, though he agreed the requirements likely will need to be revisited. "The 55 gallons is certainly something we're going to take a look at at some point," Isley said.

Even some car wash owners admit the requirements could be tougher.

"The certification program is a little too liberal," said Hap Merritt, owner of Northridge Auto Spa. "I thought they were only going to certify people with reclaimed water."

What? No recycling?

Buchan said when people hear about a conservation certification program for car washes, they often assume it must include a requirement to recycle water.

Raleigh is the only water system in North Carolina to have adopted a car wash certification program.

In Chapel Hill and Carrboro, car washes that use Orange Water and Sewer Authority water can operate as long as 50 percent of the water is recycled. The OWASA board of directors was expected to discuss placing further restrictions on businesses at its meeting Thursday night.

In Durham, car washes are required to do the same as other businesses -- voluntarily try to reduce their water use by 50 percent. Vicki Westbrook, deputy water manager for Durham, said the city is reviewing whether to put a certificate program in place similar to Raleigh's.

The car wash certification program was one of several recommendations put forward by the Raleigh Water Conservation Task Force, a body created after a previous drought and disbanded last year.