Summary
In Durham we have an ordinance that requires mobile car washing companies to contain, collect, and properly dispose of their wastewater to the sanitary sewer. Part of the Stormwater Division's job is to enforce this ordinance and ensure that polluted wastewater doesn't enter the storm drainage system. Because significant resources are dedicated to enforcement, this study was developed to measure how much pollution is avoided through these enforcement efforts.
The study involved collecting wastewater samples from two different mobile car washing companies at two separate times. The wastewater from mobile car washing businesses contains dissolved metals, nutrients, and other water pollutants of concern. The results of this study suggest that mobile car washing compliance keeps hundreds of pounds of pollution from the city's stormwater drainage system annually. You can find out more by reading the Final Report, found below. Please call the pollution prevention hotline (919-560-7946) if you see evidence of this kind of pollution.
Project Manager
Michelle Woolfolk
Phone: 919-560-4326 ext. 30219
Service request:
Click or call 919-560-1200