Indian authorities have fined more than 22 car washes in one weekend in Bangalore for using freshwater for the business. Parts of India are facing a drought. Therefore, many municipalities have restricted the use of freshwater.

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has collected more than Rs. 100.000 in fines in three days from 22 cases of violations related to using freshwater, The Times of India reports.

Some car wash companies were using water from the nearby Cauvery river or borewells.

55 euro

The authorities issued a notice about the water restrictions about 2 weeks ago, informing the public of a fine of Rs 5,000 (55 euro) for each violation of potable water use. It specified activities for which potable water is banned, such as car washing, gardening, and large construction projects.

“The city is facing a water crisis, and our orders were in line with that”, an official said to the Times In only a few days time they found many car washes that broke the new rules. “People are using sprays and hoses connected directly to taps and a lot of water is wasted”.

Though the bigger cities in India often offer rollover car washing where wastewater is reclaimed, this is not the case among the thousands of hand car washes in each city.

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