When you’re washing your car in the driveway, remember that you’re not just washing your car IN the driveway.  The soapy water, dirt and automotive fluids that run off the driveway may eventually make it to a storm sewer then to a pond, stream or one of Fort Wayne’s rivers.  What may seem like a small amount of water can have a big environmental impact.

Practicing responsible car care can help protect water quality.  Here are some ways that you can help keep local waterways clean:

• Use a commercial car wash rather than washing your car in the driveway.  Area car wash facilities send their dirty water to the sewage treatment plant for treatment before it is discharged to a river.  If you must wash the car at home, direct the soapy water onto your lawn instead of into the gutter, street or side ditch.
• Keep your vehicle properly tuned and use the owner’s manual to help you decide how often to change fluids such as oil or anti-freeze. 
• If you are a do-it-yourself mechanic, remember to dispose of automotive fluids properly.  Take them to a business that accepts waste fluids or to Tox-Away Day.  Never, never dump anything down a storm drain or on the ground! 

Most of us pick up after our pets to be good neighbors and to keep our yards clean.  In fact, in Fort Wayne, picking up pet waste is required by law.  Picking up pet waste is also a way that citizens can help protect the environment – especially our ponds, streams and rivers.

Leaving pet waste on the lawn or sidewalk makes it more likely that the material will be washed into a storm sewer during a rain storm.  Storm sewers discharge directly to ponds, ditches, streams and rivers, so whatever is picked up by a storm sewer goes directly to a water body without any kind of treatment.   Pet waste contains bacteria that are harmful to water quality.  In fact, the bacteria in pet waste can make people sick when they come into contact with polluted water.  And as pet waste breaks down in the water it promotes the growth of weeds and algae which, in turn, can reduce the amount of oxygen in the water and affect fish and other aquatic life.

Fats, oils and greases aren’t just bad for your waistline and your health; they’re bad for sewers too.  Just as fat can clog your arteries, it can clog your sewer tap and the public sewer lines making sewer overflows and backups more likely.  Fort Wayne City Utilities spends an estimated $400,000 per year to clean grease out of sewer lines and to prevent it from building up.

Grease is a by-product of cooking that comes from meat fats, lard, oil, shortening, food scraps, even baked goods.  When these materials are washed down the sink, the grease sticks on the sides of the sewer pipes – both on private property and in the public sewer system.  Over time, grease can build up to the point where it blocks the entire line.  Home garbage disposals do not keep grease out of the plumbing system.  Products such as detergents that claim to dissolve grease may just pass it down the line and cause problems elsewhere.  And while hot water may appear to make grease go away, it just melts the solids which can harden again when they hit a cold sewer pipe.