Fourth-grade students at Indian Ridge Elementary School in Aurora, Colo., are on the verge of winning national recognition for creating a program designed to curb residential carwashing in their area and promote the environmental effectiveness of commercial carwashes. With the help of a city staffer from Federal Way, Wash., the students crafted their program using Federal Way as a model and submitted their idea as an entry in Project Citizen, an education program sponsored by the Center for Civic Education and the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The students won first place in May during a Project Citizen event in Denver and will represent Colorado at the National Project Citizen Showcase July 25-28 in Louisville, Ky.
The students began their project understanding that residential carwashing and charity carwash events can send large volumes of wastewater down storm drains and eventually into natural waterways. An Internet search for background information led them to Federal Way, which offers organizations a fish-friendly program using carwash kits that divert wastewater into the sanitary sewer.
The city made headlines last year when it published a report showing the ill effects residents have when they wash their cars on impervious surfaces without properly disposing wastewater. Officials measured the pollutants created by five weekend charity carwash events held in 2007 and 2008 and then estimated the annual amount of residential carwashing that occurs in the city.
Federal Way officials estimate that 190 gallons of gasoline, diesel and motor oil; 400 pounds of phosphorous and nitrogen; 60 pounds of ammonia; 2,200 pounds of surfactants and nearly 34,000 pounds of dissolved and suspended solid wastes are deposited annually into the city's storm water drainage system as a direct result from residential carwashing.
Federal Way’s water quality specialist Hollie Shilley provided the Colorado students with step-by-step photo instructions and a video about how to set up and use the city’s carwash kit. She also helped the students locate a source for the kits and shared examples of Federal Way’s educational materials.
The students embraced the idea of implementing a similar program in their own community and brainstormed other creative ways to make a difference. They even asked Colorado legislators for an official state day to recognize the role commercial carwashes play in preventing storm water pollution.
The students created an educational brochure, surveyed local car dealerships to learn about their carwashing practices, and wrote to the CEO of Subaru requesting that a commercial showing a couple washing a car in their driveway be remade to portray a more environmentally friendly wash process.
They also developed the accompanying project slogan: “Don’t wash our future down the drain!”
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