FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In Northwest Arkansas, any water entering into a storm drain inlet goes directly to a stream or a creek without treatment, according to a press release.
When cars are washed on driveways and streets, stated the release, the dirty water will eventually end up in streams, creeks, rivers and lakes.
Home/outdoor carwashing could result in large amounts of hydrocarbons, dirt, metals and nutrients entering waterways, reported the release, whereas water used at commercial carwashes is sent to treatment plants which keeps these pollutants out of the waterways.
To help raise awareness on the importance of water quality, informed the release, Jane Maginot, extension urban stormwater educator for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, created the #GoGreenDriveClean campaign starting with a sweepstakes to win free carwashes.
“We wanted a fun interactive way to get residents of Northwest Arkansas to stop washing their cars on the street or their driveways and get them into properly piped commercial carwashes to help protect our water,” said Maginot in the release.
To be entered in the sweepstakes and to help raise awareness of the importance of protecting waterways, stated the release, people can take selfies while washing their cars at a commercial carwash, and then post the pictures on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook @NWAUpstreamArt.
They then can tag the picture using #GoGreenDriveClean for a chance to win before May 31, reported the release.
For those car owners who are not into selfies, added the release, they can answer the Facebook poll on clean water at the NWAUpstreamArt page for a chance to win.
Boomerang Carwash has made investing in water quality and quantity a priority for its company, continued the release, and the carwash was “a natural sponsor for the sweepstakes.”
The carwash chain will donate one grand prize of free carwashes for a year, informed the release, and 15 additional winners will each receive a $100 gift card to Boomerang Carwash facilities.
“Water volumes used during an average home wash can easily exceed 100 gallons,” said Ed Colvard, vice president of marketing, branding and site development for Boomerang Carwash, in the release. “Boomerang invests in three key water treatment processes to use less than 30 gallons of freshwater [per] car. Your dirty wash water is cleaned on-site and used again.”
The water project is being led by the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service through the NWA Stormwater Education program, noted the release.
You can find the release here.
