Every time you wash a car or truck, water contaminated with oil, grit, antifreeze, and other automotive fluids rinses off. This runoff has the potential to find its way into bodies of water and ultimately contaminate them--a violation of state and federal regulations. Also, if your floor drain is tied into the local sewer system, the treatment plant may have discharge limits that you are required to meet.

You can take action to address the issue. You might simply cover your floor drains with a concrete patch, or install an oil/water separator. If you wash vehicles at your facility--especially if you’re not sure where the runoff goes--it is highly recommended that you review key points of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System regulations that are covered in detail in the links that follow.