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May 7--SPRINGFIELD -- With a sunny summer of charity car washes on the horizon, local environmental experts want to spread the word that there's a better way to bring the sparkle back to the old Grand Am.

Getting your car clean can actually be pretty dirty.

If left to flow straight into the nearest storm drain, that oily, soapy and grimy water goes right into both the Willamette and McKenzie rivers, a deadly prospect for fish and other aquatic creatures, Springfield Environmental Services Technician Kim Whorrall said.

So with an eye toward keeping rivers pristine, the cities of Eugene and Springfield offer "fish-friendly" car wash kits free to any nonprofit group -- schools, churches, charities -- that wants to borrow them.

Without the kit, the run-off, soap, oil and dirt from cars can add up to lower oxygen levels in water, cloud it or just be plain toxic to the ecosystem, she explained.

"Soap and dirt accumulate and it can make an impact," Whorrall said. "You can see soap in the rivers."

Fish-friendly practices are playing out across the West.

Last year, Spokane County, Wash., placed a ban on all phosphate soaps, which are not biodegradable -- though news reports have said residents have been smuggling the phosphate stuff from across the Idaho border.

The car wash kit comes in a big blue bin and includes a sandbag, an electric pump and a hose that diverts water into the nearest sanitary sewer and away from the storm drain.

A sign also advertises the wash's environmentally friendly status.

Participants are encouraged to use biodegradable soap.

"It's a small set-up, but it has a big kick," Whorrall said, smiling. "It definitely does the job."

It may sound elaborate, but Whorrall said it was designed with "fifth-graders putting it together with their parents" in mind, and added that she also helps groups assemble the kits properly if needed.

While the kits are only available to nonprofit groups, Whorrall also offered tips for the best way to wash at home.

Owners should park their car over dirt, grass or gravel when they wash their vehicle so that the water filters somewhat before going into the groundwater, she said.

For those with a few bucks to spare, the greenest way to wash a car is to visit a commercial car wash, Whorrall said.

All of them are required to send their water to the sewer systems for treatment, and many use less water than those who wash their cars at home by recirculating their rinse water, she said.

The fish-friendly kit program in Eugene and Springfield started in 2007; last year Springfield had 39 groups borrow one of three mobile kits or host car washes at one of the city's three permanent sites at Papa's Pizza at 40th and Main streets, Arby's at 42nd and Main or Wal-Mart at 20th and Olympic, Whorrall said.

"Over the last few years, the numbers have been a lot higher," she said, "but they're always available."

Credit: The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore.

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