Is it OK to wash my car or not?

June Casagrande

Pop quiz: You’re washing your car in your driveway, a sponge in one

hand, a bottle of Joy in the other. A Newport Beach Water Quality

Code Enforcement officer drives up.

Do you: a) run like mad; b) spray him or her playfully with the

hose; or c) relax, knowing that you’re following the letter and

spirit of the law?

For a lot of Newport Beach residents, washing their cars in the

age of storm-drain storm troopers is a perplexing business.

Technically, new water-quality rules say in somewhat vague terms that

all pollutants must be kept out of storm drains. That includes the

dirt and leaves in the street that wash into the gutter with the

water from the hose, the soap, and the matter left on the lawn by the

terrier next door.

So, can you or can’t you wash your car in your yard?

“The answer is a firm ‘maybe,’” Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff

wrote to the City Council.

Storm drain rules, which are imposed by the county, have strict

applications for commercial car washing: If you wash someone’s car

for money, you can’t allow any pollutants to run into the storm

drain. But county rules leave the city’s options open for cracking

down on noncommercial car washing.

In most cases, the city doesn’t want to punish individuals. But if

a code enforcement officer deems “excessive” the amount of soap or

debris sent into the storm drain by a person washing his or her own

car, the officer can issue a warning or a fine of $100, $200 or even

$500 for each offense.

“The best way to wash your car is still to go to a car wash,” Kiff

said. “The second best way is to find a permeable surface so the

water runs right into the ground.”

Washing a car on the lawn instead of the driveway can mean that

the biological matter that would otherwise increase bacteria levels

in the bay will instead just act as a natural fertilizer.

Commercial car washes in the area all have systems in place to

keep the used water from running into the storm drains.

“We reclaim all our water,” said Furat Singh, owner of Angel’s

Auto Spa in Costa Mesa. “It’s a very bad thing if the water goes to

the street and goes to the storm drain.”

Those who insist on washing their cars at home can still avoid

contributing to pollution and running the risk of a fine: Use as

little water as possible; sweep the street up until the first storm

drain; use just a little soap; and, if possible, park the car on

gravel or grass before washing it.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.