Car Maintenance

If you own a home or vehicle, you may invest time and money in maintaining your lawn or vehicle year after year. However, the ways in which you maintain them can greatly affect the cleanliness and health of our rivers and creeks. Review the following sets of tips for maintaining your vehicles while still reducing and preventing pollutants from entering our storm drains when it rains.

Vehicle Pollutants

When we work on our automobiles at home, fluids that leak onto driveways can drain into streets and storm drains. This can poison fish, plants and wildlife when they enter rivers and creeks.

• Just one oil change can pollute up to one million gallons of freshwater.
• Detergents used when washing vehicles at home can also flow into storm drains and pollute waterways.

Tips for Cleaner Vehicle Maintenance

Use these tips when working on or washing vehicles to help prevent waterway pollution:

Washing

• Wash vehicles on lawns instead of driveways. Grass absorbs excess water. Avoid hosing runoff into streets.
• Consider paid car washes. They recycle runoff.

Oil Changes & Leaks

• Inspect and maintain vehicles regularly to reduce the chance of leaks. Fix leaks as soon as possible.
• Drain used motor oil into a reusable, re-sealable container.
• Use a drip pan under vehicles if leaks are found or when doing engine work.
• Avoid mixing used motor oil with other automotive fluids.
• Absorb leaks with sawdust, sand or cat litter. Sweep up for disposal. Do not hose into streets.

Proper Disposal

• Dispose of household hazardous (HHW) waste like oil filters, fluids and batteries at one of the City's HHW drop-off locations.
• Dispose of tires during your curbside bulky item collection day or at one of the City's bulky waste collection centers.