EPA Violations In Downtown Denver

Colorado has regulations in place regarding pressure washing and wash water recovery.

Wash On Wheels posted these Stormwater Regulations on our website because we want people to be aware so they can make educated decisions when planning their pressure washing.  We choose to be proactive in following the regulations and providing a reasonably priced pressure washing service that includes wash water recovery at no additional charge.

Storm Drain Cover Improperly Installed

Unfortunately, some pressure washing companies are not so open about the regulations that are written specifically for their business.  We know there are small pressure washing companies that can’t afford the investment in equipment to provide recovery.

But there are other companies that can afford it but won’t spend the money. They put their customer’s money – and reputation – at risk by saying they do recovery and presenting the appearance of recovery without actually doing it.

It’s disappointing to see other companies that know what the regulations are but refuse to accept the responsibility for themselves, the environment,  and their customers who don’t know the regulations.

We were in downtown Denver to bid a pressure washing job and saw two different companies violating the regulations.

Leak Around Storm Drain Cover

A very large property maintenance company – who knows what they should be doing – thinks this is correct storm drain protection?

Pressure washing sidewalks with no water recovery in place

Here are pictures of another offender washing the sidewalks outside another large building.  They were washing all the dirt and debris from the sidewalk straight into the storm drain.

Wash water running straight into the storm drain

The guy doing the spraying claimed to not know about the regulations, but even after we explained it to him he ignored the information and kept washing.

The Clean Water Action Plan of 2010 is an update to the Clean Water Act of 1972 by the EPA. Each state gets to decide how to enforce the regulations – unless they don’t do a good job. If they don’t, the EPA can step in and take over.

Colorado has a very small budget for actively enforcing the regulations on pressure washing.  The best way it can be enforced is by people reporting violations to local authorities.

It’s difficult for companies such as Wash On Wheels to maintain higher environmental protection standards when so many other companies avoid the costs by either not providing recovery or by only providing a sham.  It costs thousands of dollars to set up recovery units.

We know our potential customers have options to use companies that charge lower prices because they didn’t invest in the equipment to provide recovery.  As a result, we don’t charge our customers more when recovery is involved in order to have a chance at getting the job in the first place.

We know wash water recovery for pressure washing operations will become more of an issue in the future.  We will continue to lead our industry in providing mobile pressure washing services and the environmental water recovery that goes with it.

In the meantime, if you witness any company performing pressure washing without recovering their wash water, please contact the local authorities and report it.  The regulations are in place to protect the water and environment – for all of us.

The city and county of Denver has a hotline for reporting violations at 1-877-518-5608.