CCA Response to City of Ottawa Carwash Ban
During the week of May 9th, 2011, the City of Ottawa asked seven carwashes to stop operating in a region where the replacement of a water main
caused water shortages. This stopage in operation is to continue until the main is fixed, which is not expected until August 2011.
The Canadian Carwash Association (CCA) has communicated its position to Dixon Weir, the City’s General
Manager of Environmental Services.
CCA Executive Director, Jorge de Mendonça, stated that, "Our position on an issue of this nature is that when major catastrophic
events arise, all industries should behave in the best interest of the general public. Providing that carwash owners are not being
singled out and are treated the same as other industries, many of whom consume more water than does a typical carwash operation,
that compliance to voluntary bans is the preferred action they should take."
"With that said, the message that is being lost is that professional carwash operations use less water and have less of an
environmental impact than most consumers know," said de Mendonça.
The carwash industry is working to inform consumers who wash their cars in the driveway that professional carwashes use
significantly less water per wash and are a better environmental option. "In terms of water usage, it’s like comparing taking
a shower to taking a bath. Intuitively many people think a shower uses more water as it’s running for a long period of time,
but in fact a bath does. A large bath can in fact use up as much water as a typical professional carwash." said de Mendona.
The industry is in the middle of a campaign to inform consumers that on the environmental side, which is a larger concern,
driveway washing results in chemicals, oils and grit from the washed car going into the storm sewer system which, in most
cases, ends up going directly into a lake or river. There is no such thing as environmentally benign soaps, even those labeled
environmentally-friendly leave some sort of chemical footprint for aquatic life to deal with.
Professional carwashes, on the other hand, must skim off effluent from the wash into holding tanks for licensed removal with
the balance of the water going to the sanitary sewer system for treatment. For these reasons, an increasing number of municipalities
have in place by-laws which prohibit driveway washing.
The City of Calgary is one example where driveway car washing has been banned and the city now works with the industry to
promote professional car washing. This is born out in a survey conducted last December which found that 86 per cent of
Albertans are more likely to wash their cars at a professional carwash versus 8 per cent which indicated they prefer to
wash in the driveway. The number for Ontarians who stated a preference for the professional car wash was only 55 per cent
with 31 per cent indicating they were likely to wash their cars in their driveway.
The Association wants the public to know that the carwash industry supports all efforts towards water conservation.
"There is a bigger picture here we should not overlook, and that is the role of our industry on the environmental front.
We’ve partnered with groups such as the Yellow Fish Road to help share our message and we continue to look for ways to
improve our industries environmental foot print."
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