Car washing in the spotlight

Business is about to dry up for car wash facilities, writes Nkululeko Nene

CAR WASH businesses will be hugely affected when new water restrictions are implemented later this month. While others are finding ways to prevent excessive water usage, it is difficult for some business owners.

During the drought briefing held in Durban on Tuesday, the eThekwini Municipality’s head of water and sanitation, Ednick Msweli, appealed to residents to save water, or face a fine of R500 for a household found washing a car.

Nusinesses would have to pay up to R10 000. This will be a reality once 15 percent water restrictions are gazetted later this month.

Mary Robertson, who runs a car wash business in the city, fears that she may be forced to cut down on staff to consolidate her business. She said she was worried about her 15 staff, who had been loyal to her.

Robertson blamed the eThekwini Municipality for allowing the situation to get out of control.

“This should have been implemented much earlier. The government woke up a bit late in introducing water restrictions. It will be interesting to know how this will be implemented though. It is a serious concern for us,” she said.

“At the moment we use high pressure systems, simply because the water consumption is less, and using a bucket could affect our service greatly. Our loyal clients will never be satisfied with that, they will slowly disappear and leave us with no business to run,” Robertson said.

But the owner of Eagle Taxis, Faye Freedman, said to reduce water usage she had instructed her staff to cut down on washing vehicles. She said Eagle Taxis had 35 cars per shift and cleanliness was the company’s policy.

“We have a chemical wash and wax system for all our vehicles now. We now only wash them once a week, as opposed to seven days a week in the past, this has reduced our water use tremendously. Water restrictions will stifle businesses and force many to close down,” she said.