Our project is a full service car dealership that includes a staff operated car wash. The proposed design will utilize a closed-loop recycled car wash system that will reduce the amount of potable water required to wash a vehicle from 25 gallons to 6 gallons as compared to a conventional car wash system. A conventional carwash system uses 25 gallons of potable water that is 100% evacuated to the sanitary sewer. The proposed design will utilize 25 gallons of reclaimed water from reclaim holding tanks for the soap and wash process and only 6 gallons of potable water for the final rinse. (Note: the proposed system is the most efficient technology currently available). It is our position that carwashes are an integral part and a standard component in automotive dealerships. Additionally, car washes are the largest consumers of potable water in automotive dealerships and as such should be considered in the calculations for this project. This request is to confirm that the water efficient car wash equipment system can be considered towards Innovative Waste Water Technology which sites " water conserving fixtures (water closets, urinals)" as being the fixtures allowed to be considered under this point.
The project is inquiring if it is possible to achieve WEc2 through the use of a water efficient car wash system. WEc2 deals with water-use reduction as it relates to sewage conveyance, thus it doesn\'t pertain to this request. The project\'s petition is more appropriately suited for an Innovation in Design (ID) point for process water use reduction. As indicated in CIR Ruling 8/31/2004, a project may be eligible for an ID point for reducing process water if a whole building approach is used (dish washers, drinking fountains, cooling towers, etc., in addition to the car wash). The project will need to demonstrate a 10% savings in process water use as compared against the regulated water use calculated in WEc3. Please refer to CIR Ruling 8/31/2004 for details on how the project should document this credit. Applicable Internationally.