Preventing Car Wash Neighborhood Impacts

Protecting neighborhoods from car wash noise, water pollution, and other impacts is one of the many services provided by Community & Environmental Defense Services (CEDS). If you are concerned about a car wash proposed near your home then read on for guidance to determine if impacts are likely and, if so, strategy options for safeguarding you and your neighbors. If you need immediate assistance contact CEDS at help@ceds.org or 410-654-3021.

While a car wash is a valuable service most of us enjoy, these facilities can be a problem when located close to homes. By “home” we mean an apartment, townhouse, single-family detached residence or any other place where people sleep or go to for peace and quiet.

Noise

Noise is the most significant impact when a car wash is located too close to homes, schools, day care, assisted living, or other noise-sensitive facilities. Disturbing sound can come from car wash blowers (air dryers), vacuum producers or stations, or from customers playing loud music, having loud conversations, or allowing rumbling engines to run or rev while waiting in a car wash que. These same noises may come from vehicles at vacuum stations. A car wash open all night or even until 10 to midnight (when most are trying to sleep) is the most disturbing to nearby residents, especially when the car wash or vacuum stations are near a bedroom.

So how close is too close with regard to a car wash or vacuum station and a home?

Generally, neither should be within 300 or 400 feet of a home.

Just because a car wash is proposed within several hundred feet of a home does not necessarily mean a problem will result. A number of measures are available for resolving potential car wash and vacuum station noise impacts. Keep in mind though that most of these measures will only be effective if they are designed, installed, and properly maintained for years or decades.

A first step in identifying highly-effective and reliable measures is a thorough noise impact study. The cost of such a study should be borne by the applicant seeking the permits and other approvals needed to develop a car wash.

Among the many professionals in the CEDS network are noise experts, such as acoustical engineers. For a modest fee one of these experts can review the applicant’s study to assess accuracy and determine whether proposed measures will safeguard nearby residents from undue noise.

Water Pollution

Car wash waters can contain a number of potential water pollution contaminants such as PFAs (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) known as forever chemicals because of the long persistence. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified PFAs as an urgent public health and environmental issue. The USEPA and a number of states have designated vehicle washing locations as a Stormwater Hotspot because of the higher level of water pollution agents compared to the composition of rainwater runoff from other land uses. 

While one might assume that contaminated wash waters not cause water pollution in nearby streams or groundwater aquifers, this may not be the case. Most modern car washes would be designed so wash waters would flow into a drain within the building discharging into a sanitary sewer connected to a wastewater treatment facility. However, a portion may infiltrate down through the car wash building floor to possibly contaminate underlying groundwater then a nearby stream or other surface waters.

A 2014 Johns Hopkins University study, Small spills at gas stations could cause significant public health risks over time, found that an average of 40 gallons of gasoline is spilled at a typical gas station per year at the pumps. The JHU researchers also found that a significant portion of the spilled gasoline migrates through the pads at many fueling stations. It is possible that a portion of the large volume of wash water could percolate through the car wash floor to contaminate underlying groundwaters then a nearby wetland or other surface waters.

As noted earlier, the USEPA and others have designated car washes a Stormwater Hotspot. Scientific research indicates that stormwater control measures (SCMs aka BMPs) are ineffective at removing PFAs and other contaminants from car wash runoff waters. Normally, CEDS recommends the use of highly-effective SCMs or BMPs (Best Management Practices) to gain development benefits while safeguarding aquatic resources. However, the most effective BMPs infiltrate runoff into the soil. Infiltrating car wash runoff into the earth can lead to groundwater then surface water contamination. Because of this new car wash facilities should not be allowed over shallow aquifers serving as a water supply source or near uniquely important or sensitive wetlands, streams, or lakes.

CEDS Assistance

CEDS and our nationwide network of 200+ Good Attorneys can also assist you in ensuring that any permit or other approval the applicant needs will include enforceable requirements to install and maintain highly-effective and reliable noise reduction measures. But if even the best measures will not resolve the impact, then CEDS can assist you in convincing decision-makers to nix the car wash by denying permits-approvals such as rezoning, conditional use permit, special exception, special use permit, variances, waivers, etc.

For some of the technical background on noise and possible impact reduction measures see the following sections in the CEDS How to Stop Disturbing Noise webpage:

Further detail regarding aquatic resource impacts and safeguards see the CEDS Protecting Rivers, Lakes, & Wetlands from Land Development Impacts webpage: https://ceds.org/aquatic/.

Since a car wash is frequently part of a proposed gas station-convenience store, see also the CEDS How To Stop Poorly-Planned Gas Stations & Convenience Stores webpage.