By cleaning their cars at a commercial car wash, residents in the Puget Sound region can help protect the area’s delicate ecosystem. Area residents are taking small actions like this to allow Puget Sound the chance to regain its pre-industrial vitality.
When residents wash cars in their driveways, the runoff water mixes with oil, grease, and other toxins, and goes into the storm drain. It goes directly into the Puget Sound watershed.
“Car wash facilities recapture all the water and make sure that it’s discharged, after going through oil-water separators, into the sewer rather than the storm drain,” Steve Palmer, CFO of Brown Bear Carwash, in Olympia, Wash., told The Epoch Times. Palmer said he has about 45 locations.
Palmer said water cleaning and conservation has been part of his business practice for a long time, and he can’t remember when car washes began doing that. “It’s part of our business practice rather than some marketing strategy,” he said.
Washing at a car wash is one very simple way people can help the Puget Sound ecosystem, and there are many more. The environment around Puget Sound has been degrading since industry first came to the region. Currently the biggest cause of pollution, about 85 percent, comes from the activities of daily life, non-point sources, rather than industry, and point source pollution, according to Frank Mendizabel of the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP), a state agency that oversees restoration projects of Puget Sound.
Point-source pollution comes from a single identifiable, usually fixed source, “a big factory on the shoreline that’s spewing,” said Mendizabel. Most of these big areas of concern are under remediation, he said.
Now the pollution problems come from things like brake dust, poorly functioning septic systems, and pet feces. Every time a driver brakes, a layer of residue is scraped off the brake pad (which is why they wear out). Historically, these pads contained pollutants like copper and arsenic. Earlier this year Washington passed a law to phase out these toxins in brake pads sold in the state.
When pet feces enter the water cycle for example, it increases the nitrogen concentration causing excessive plant growth, throwing the ecosystem out of balance.
When residents wash cars in their driveways, the runoff water mixes with oil, grease, and other toxins, and goes into the storm drain. It goes directly into the Puget Sound watershed.
“Car wash facilities recapture all the water and make sure that it’s discharged, after going through oil-water separators, into the sewer rather than the storm drain,” Steve Palmer, CFO of Brown Bear Carwash, in Olympia, Wash., told The Epoch Times. Palmer said he has about 45 locations.
Palmer said water cleaning and conservation has been part of his business practice for a long time, and he can’t remember when car washes began doing that. “It’s part of our business practice rather than some marketing strategy,” he said.
Washing at a car wash is one very simple way people can help the Puget Sound ecosystem, and there are many more. The environment around Puget Sound has been degrading since industry first came to the region. Currently the biggest cause of pollution, about 85 percent, comes from the activities of daily life, non-point sources, rather than industry, and point source pollution, according to Frank Mendizabel of the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP), a state agency that oversees restoration projects of Puget Sound.
Point-source pollution comes from a single identifiable, usually fixed source, “a big factory on the shoreline that’s spewing,” said Mendizabel. Most of these big areas of concern are under remediation, he said.
Now the pollution problems come from things like brake dust, poorly functioning septic systems, and pet feces. Every time a driver brakes, a layer of residue is scraped off the brake pad (which is why they wear out). Historically, these pads contained pollutants like copper and arsenic. Earlier this year Washington passed a law to phase out these toxins in brake pads sold in the state.
When pet feces enter the water cycle for example, it increases the nitrogen concentration causing excessive plant growth, throwing the ecosystem out of balance.
Troubled Waters
“Puget Sound looks great from the surface,” Mendizable said, noting that he was looking at it through his window, but beneath the surface it faces a host of threats and people will need to act to prevent the situation from worsening.
Orca whales in the Sound are in danger of losing their food source, the endangered Chinook salmon, and shellfish in some areas have become too toxic for human consumption. Flourishing invasives such as the Chinese mitten crab, European green crabs, knotweed, and Spartina cordgrass are also upsetting Puget Sound waters.
Two of the major problems facing the region are storm water runoff from impervious surfaces, and poorly planned development along shorelines. Storm water carries toxins like lawn chemicals and car residue immediately into the nearest body of water.
Mendizabel said a partial solution to storm water runoff is permeable asphalt, which allows water to soak through the pavement and into the ground where it is naturally filtered through the earth before entering the watershed.
Linda Anderson-Carnahan, manager for the Puget Sound Program for the EPA, Region 10, said that low-impact development by homeowners is key to restoring Puget Sound.
A large part of PSP’s initiative is education. Mendizabel said Puget Sound needs its 4 million residents, or as many as possible, to change their behavior and do the little things needed to prevent pollution from entering the water.
“A lot of things that are generally thought of as good environmental practices, will go a long way,” he said. “And the consciousness around them will go a long way to the effort of protecting and restoring Puget Sound.”
Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pledged $30 million for grants to restore the area around Puget Sound, Washington state. Grant recipients will match the grant money, bringing a total of $60 million to one of the nations polluted treasures.
Orca whales in the Sound are in danger of losing their food source, the endangered Chinook salmon, and shellfish in some areas have become too toxic for human consumption. Flourishing invasives such as the Chinese mitten crab, European green crabs, knotweed, and Spartina cordgrass are also upsetting Puget Sound waters.
Two of the major problems facing the region are storm water runoff from impervious surfaces, and poorly planned development along shorelines. Storm water carries toxins like lawn chemicals and car residue immediately into the nearest body of water.
Mendizabel said a partial solution to storm water runoff is permeable asphalt, which allows water to soak through the pavement and into the ground where it is naturally filtered through the earth before entering the watershed.
Linda Anderson-Carnahan, manager for the Puget Sound Program for the EPA, Region 10, said that low-impact development by homeowners is key to restoring Puget Sound.
A large part of PSP’s initiative is education. Mendizabel said Puget Sound needs its 4 million residents, or as many as possible, to change their behavior and do the little things needed to prevent pollution from entering the water.
“A lot of things that are generally thought of as good environmental practices, will go a long way,” he said. “And the consciousness around them will go a long way to the effort of protecting and restoring Puget Sound.”
Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pledged $30 million for grants to restore the area around Puget Sound, Washington state. Grant recipients will match the grant money, bringing a total of $60 million to one of the nations polluted treasures.