Why Storm Drains Matter....Pt.1

[Bigpikle]

One really important area of 'Eco-Friendly Detailing' for me is the run-off and pollution that can arise from the various foaming and washing techniques that most of us on here use.

One thing that has been very enlightening for me has been learning more about why this is important and what in fact are the problems. In various discussions on here and elsewhere, I have become aware that many, like me until fairly recently, have no idea what happens to the water and waste product that gets into the drains in our streets. It is a common misconception that these drains are treated and the output from them is 'cleaned' of any chemical and pollution risks. THIS IS NOT TRUE.

Now, many people have not believed me when I have talked about this so it gave me the idea for this thread. I did a little bit of research and decided to find out exactly where the waste water from my house and street end up....

So, the start. The gutters from my house and my neighbours feed into here, at the bottom of my driveway...



This drain picks up all the water run-off in the street from several drains like this one, just a few feet from the end of my driveway, and where all the water drains from mine and my neighbours driveways/detailing areas... If you look closely in the picture above you can actually see the stains on the asphalt caused by the run-off from washing my cars



It then continues down the road into here, which is only about 100m from my house... The water level is unusually high as we had torrential rain last night that delivered several days worth of heavy rain in < 30 mins Note the hi-tech filtering before the water leaves the drain



This stream runs for about 500m and becomes this...and notice the additional drain feeding directly into the water supply - do you see any cleaning/filtering going on here?



This stream gets a little bigger and collects waste water from many more streets as it runs for about another 600m and becomes this...



and 20m from here it feeds into the main river flowing through our town park here...





which is 10m from this...



I took this picture to illustrate the fact that this river is teeming with fish and wildlife. Best of all I have seen Kingfishers fishing on that stretch, as well as blokes in beanie hats, and there have been numerous otter sightings there as well in the last few years. It obviously has the usual habitat of river voles and other animals along its stretch, and many people let their dogs in there as well.

So, the journey is a short one, about 1200m from my driveway to this lovely river. The foam that runs off my car only has to travel 1200m before it is being used to clean the fish, otters, Kingfisher's dinners and other wildlife that lives there.

I live in a typical small town, with many modern housing developments around it, just like the vast majority of people do. I am willing to bet the drains at the bottom of your driveways or outside your houses do the EXACT same journey, and NOWHERE along the entire journey is there any filtering, cleaning or other precautions to remove the chemicals that get washed in there. The Environment Agency clearly state that NOTHING except uncontaminated rainwater should enter surface drains - I think its pretty clear why now....

In Pt 2 I'll show you some research to show that even properly diluted car wash products have an impact on the environment and wildlife when washed into drains just like mine and yours

Damon

[Trist]

Interesting post, I'm tempted to do the same in my area!

[grant_evans]

very interesting read

[Cliff]

Good post Bigpikle

People should also be careful when they decide to 'move' their washing machines etc as I have come across these that have been put into RW drains and even into unsuitable soakaways

[S500]

Interesting post and very thought provoking. Regardless of any claims made by certain manufacturers that a particular product is 100% enviromentally friendly, I will always be sceptical. It raises the moral question, is the cleanliness of your car more important than the possible damage it may cause to the enviroment. Can I feel any less guilty living in London watching all my suds flow into the sewer system going direct to filtering plants?

[Bigpikle]

Originally Posted by S500

Interesting post and very thought provoking. Regardless of any claims made by certain manufacturers that a particular product is 100% enviromentally friendly, I will always be sceptical. It raises the moral question, is the cleanliness of your car more important than the possible damage to the enviroment. Can I feel any less guilty living in London watching all my suds flow into the sewer system going direct to filtering plants?

'biodegradable' is a term I see widely used, and many think it means 'safe to the environment' and get a false feeling of security All it means is that the product can be broken down by other living organisms. It doesnt mean its safe to be in rivers, lakes, your water etc.

If your surface drains flow into treated facilities, and a small % do apparently, then I guess the issue is largely resolved. From what I have read though VERY few people have that option.

I think its always a choice to decide what we do. Our own values are what we use to make that choice. Right now, I have a growing priority of being as green as possible. It doesnt mean I will stop owning a car, flying round the world on business to earn a living etc, but it does mean that where I can make a difference I will do my best. I only fly if absolutely necessary, walk to the local Tesco 1 mile away when I can, and now choose not to pollute my local stream and river with foam each weekend.... I still want to detail my cars though, but have made choices about how I do that so I can still achieve the results I want but without the 'cost' of pollution that I used to unknowingly create. The great thing is we could all do just as well without gallons of foam each weekend but most people havent seen how yet

Edit: interesting article on what 'biodegradable' actually means...or doesnt

[Dave Richardson]

Interesting post, & carefully investigated

Makes you think!!!!!

Dave

[Mixman]

Good investigating.

What you've followed is a surface water drain. This water will come from perhaps your gutters and and sinks and obviously anything from the road or drive that you rinse off.

Obviously this goes, as you say, into the river, eventually. But look at the river! A little water from cleaning your car will be diluted a million to one at least! And the fishermen wouldn't be there if the river wasn't clean enough to have fish live there

I'm all for biodegradeable products and eco friendly but I don't get worried about what little pollutants I may possibly put in the watercourse!

[Bigpikle]

Originally Posted by Mixman

Good investigating.

What you've followed is a surface water drain. This water will come from perhaps your gutters and and sinks and obviously anything from the road or drive that you rinse off.

Obviously this goes, as you say, into the river, eventually. But look at the river! A little water from cleaning your car will be diluted a million to one at least! And the fishermen wouldn't be there if the river wasn't clean enough to have fish live there

I'm all for biodegradeable products and eco friendly but I don't get worried about what little pollutants I may possibly put in the watercourse!

wait till you see Pt2

Pm sent

[caledonia]

Originally Posted by Mixman

Good investigating.

What you've followed is a surface water drain. This water will come from perhaps your gutters and and sinks and obviously anything from the road or drive that you rinse off.

Obviously this goes, as you say, into the river, eventually.!

This is true to an extent. Only water from gutters and the road way will feed into the river unfiltered. Sinks are normally connected to your Foul stack. Which in turn should lead to a water treatment plant for purification. But one thing to remember here also. A lot of the waste pipe and sewers are years old, and are very hard to maintain. This can cause problems with seepage and inturn find its way into the water ways also.
Take this into account does not give you leeway to empty everything down the drains or toilets.

Gordon.