CAR WASH ASSOCIATION CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO TARGET NON-COMPLIANT OPERATORS AS AUTUMN WATER RESTRICTIONS LOOM

Many Water Authorities concerned with dwindling stocks are examining ways of tightening supply restrictions as we head towards the autumn months. Their first step is to propose a Non-Essential Use Ban (NEUB) for commercial operations, which is subject to a Public Hearing and needs ratification from the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Such restrictions should be covered by the Drought Direction 2011 and subsequent modifications, but in terms of the car washing industry these should have been updated to keep in tandem with significant market changes. The Car Wash Association (CWA), a not-for-profit trade body operating under the aegis of the Retail Motor Industry Federation, published its bi-annual UK Market Update in early 2026. This report highlighted the fact that the total value of the market had rapidly climbed to over £2.3bn/year, with the split between Mechanical (Automated) Car Washes and Hand Car Washes approximately 30% to 65%.

Hand Car Washes (HCW) have grown significantly in number, while concerns remain around regulation and enforcement, with more than 5,000 such operations active across England and Wales.

By contrast, the operators of rollovers, jet washes, tunnel washes and some nationally based hand car washes are professionally controlled and meet all appropriate legislation. Many have already invested in bore holes, water re-cycling, rainwater harvesting and pressure controls to minimise water use.

The CWA believes that Water Authorities and Government should first seek to restrict non-compliant operators within the HCW sector, as it is the largest and has traditionally had less focus on water control. One example of this is the Water Act 1991: Section 118 Trade Effluent. Any commercial operation seeking to dispose of Trade Effluent, often in the case of HCW containing toxic chemicals including acid, must have a valid Consent issued by their local Water Authority. Previous independent market studies found that very few HCW had such Consent, raising concerns around compliance and, in some cases, the discharge of toxic trade effluent into storm water drains.

The CWA proposes to Water Authorities and Government that any further supply restrictions under NEUB arrangements should be directed to those operations without a Trade Effluent Consent. This provides a clear distinction: an operator can either show a valid and registered Consent or they cannot.