Automotive car wash sewer by-law

am i allowed to wash car on city streets? how about driveway? in toronto it is not allowed because of sewer by-law but i am not sure if vancouver allowed

thx

 

Well, today I learned...

From the City of Vancouver website:

Too bad most car wash places will leave scratches and swirl marks on the clear coat .

I don't think it's an issue if your driveway doesn't drain into a storm drain though. Household water waste is treated, storm sewer water is not, hence the bylaw. It makes sense that they wouldn't want the car soap to end up in our lakes and rivers where the phosphates can cause algae blooms, disrupt the ecosystem and hurt our fish among other problems.

I'm not sure if the bylaw applies to the other municipalities in Metro Vancouver eg: Burnaby, Richmond, etc. Most likely?

One thing you can do is switch to a no rinse car wash like ONR (Optimum No Rinse) and then dump the the waste water into your sink or laundry drain.