Following several news stories on the topic last week, many people have been surprised to learn about Auckland Council’s “hefty fines” and outrageous rules prohibiting anyone from washing their car in their driveway.
According to the stories, anyone caught hose-in-hand could be dealt a $1500 fine by council officers for polluting the environment. Worse still, this ‘Auckland Council rule’ was something we had failed to publicise, meaning Aucklanders were being hit in the pocket over a law they didn’t even know existed.
This news came as a surprise to us too, so let’s rinse away the rumours and look at the facts.
One rule for all
For starters, the council doesn’t have its own rules around car washing. The relevant piece of legislation is the Resource Management Act (RMA), which guides the protection of our environment not just in Tāmaki Makaurau but across Aotearoa New Zealand.
You won’t find any mention of car washing in this document, but it does state that it’s illegal for any person or company to discharge any substance into water, the stormwater system, land or air, unless they have specific permission. The RMA sets the infringement for an individual at $1,500 and $3,000 for a business.
Councils across New Zealand are required to enforce this legislation and do so regularly— issuing fines to polluters and even prosecting companies who wilfully and repeatedly cause environmental harm.
What does this mean for home car washing?
In theory, RMA rules mean that no soaps or chemicals that may harm the environment should be used to wash cars, houses, driveways or any item where runoff can enter our stormwater system.
Why? Because stormwater drains lead to the sea. Unlike wastewater, which is treated after it leaves our homes, anything that goes into our stormwater drains will eventually end up in our streams or the ocean. Once there, contaminants like oil, chemicals and even ordinary household detergents can poison aquatic life and damage fragile ecosystems.
So yes, strictly speaking, washing your car in your driveway or other unsealed ground could breach the RMA. The council takes a pragmatic approach to this issue, however, and our compliance officers are not cruising the streets on Saturday mornings looking for unsuspecting car washers to ping. To put it plainly, the council has bigger fish to fry – from people felling protected trees to companies dumping toxic chemicals into waterways.
Despite claims on social media that someone’s friend was fined for washing their car (sparking last week’s media storm), we have no record of having issued such a fine in recent history. If we did receive a complaint about soapy runoff entering a stormwater drain, our first step would likely be a conversation and some education, not a fine.
Follow the guidance, use common sense
Just because you’re unlikely to be hit with a fine for washing your car in your driveway, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be wary of RMA rules and the environment.
On our website, we provide guidance on steps you can take when washing cars at home, including parking the car over grass or other unsealed ground so runoff can be absorbed. Where this isn’t possible, runoff can be diverted away from stormwater drains and towards unsealed ground using something like sandbags.
If this all sounds a bit hard, a search for ‘car wash Auckland’ will give you dozens of options for washing your car at an automated or self-wash site.
The bottom line
Contrary to recent headlines, Auckland Council is not coming for your hose. What we are doing is asking people to employ a bit of care and common sense when washing their cars at home, and to do what they can to keep detergents, oil and grime out of our stormwater drains.
Clean cars are great, clean waterways are even better.
