City of Davis revokes ban on washing cars at home. These rules must be followed.
DAVIS — California cities enacted some severe water restrictions during the last drought, and after two wet winters in a row, most of those rules have now been canceled.
However, there is one Sacramento-area town where a controversial car wash ban has remained in effect—until this week.
Vehicles in the city of Davis may soon be a little less dirty. For more than two years, people who live there have been prohibited from washing their cars at home.
It was part of a series of water conservation measures approved in 2022 due to the extreme drought. That's when Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered water districts to cut back usage by 20%. At the time, the city said it would make a big difference.
"Sixteen million gallons or 50 acre-feet per year is what our consultants had estimated," said Dawn Calciano, the city's conservation coordinator.
Since then, the only way people could clean their vehicles was to go to a commercial car wash where water is recycled or a low-flow hose is used.
"I think that's very difficult to enforce honestly, and people are going to do what they're going to do," Davis resident Bryson Zuspan said.
However, this week the Davis city leaders voted to rescind the car wash ban, but some very specific rules must be followed.
It's called the "two-bucket method." One bucket has soapy water and the other holds clean water to rinse. No more than two gallons of water can be used in each bucket.
The city said that the change is more equitable since having to pay for a car wash can be a financial hardship for some.
The car wash ban has now been moved into a higher tier of conservation measures that could still be brought back in the future if water supplies run short.
Davis still has a water restriction on using landscape sprinklers more than three times a week.