Car Care
Dripping gas and oil onto
driveways, roads, and parking lots is a huge problem for streams in
urban and suburban areas. Handling gas, oil, and grease and washing
your car at home can flush detergents and other contaminants into
the storm drain system and directly into our waters.
Clean Stormwater Car Care
Tips:
-
Keep your automobiles
well-tuned so that they are not dripping fluids or emitting
unnecessary fumes. Place a drip pan under your vehicle's engine.
-
Service your car carefully.
-
Dispose of used auto fluids
and batteries at designated drop-off and recycling locations.
Many retail auto stores offer used auto fluids and battery
collection as a service to their customers; contact your local
retailer to find out if they do. A partial list of businesses
that collect waste oil is contained within the Maine Oil Recycling Program (MORP) Directory.
-
Avoid spilling gas on the
ground or in the water.
-
If you do change your oil at
home, use a drop cloth and immediately clean up any that spills
on the ground.
-
Use a funnel to fill up
fluids (in cars, lawn mowers, snowmobiles, ATVs, etc).
-
Avoid topping off your fuel
tank to reduce the chance of spillage.
-
Store and label of gasoline
properly.
-
Wash your vehicles so the
runoff goes to your lawn or at a car wash facility instead of in
your driveway.
|
Wash water entering a
storm drain
Keep wash water out of
our lakes, streams, and bays.
Wash your car on the lawn or take it to a car wash. |
