Drivers who waited in line for Vashon rowers to clean the grime off their vehicles on Sunday may not have realized the event marked what many expect will become an island norm: fish-friendly car washes.

Washing cars by hand is a well-known source of pollution, sending soap, automotive fluids, heavy metals and road dirt into local bodies of water. For years, communities around the country have encouraged groups raising funds with car washes to take an environmentally friendly approach, either by selling coupons for professional car washes or by using a special kit that catches and diverts the water before it flows down the nearest storm drain. Now, Vashon has joined the ranks of those communities, thanks to an effort that included members of

the Vashon Maury Island Groundwater Protection Committee, high school and middle school students and a host of others.

Last Sunday, at the first car wash set to keep dirty water out of the storm drain and nearby Shinglemill Creek, Vashon Island Junior Crew crew parent Pat Call said he believes their efforts were about 80 percent successful and that they will continue to work on an effective solution that other groups will be able to use.

“I grew up on the island and fished in Shinglemill Creek,” said Shawn Hoffman, who owns the Vashon Market plaza, the site of most of the island’s benefit car washes. “We do not want anything to harm the fish, and we do not want to lose the opportunity for fundraisers. This might be a good compromise.”

Islander Greg Rabourn, Vashon’s Basin Steward for King County and program manager of the groundwater committee, is among those working on this project and stresses its importance. Scientists are not yet sure what component of runoff is the most harmful to fish, he said, but they do know that surfactants in soap can stick to fish gills, causing the fish to suffocate. The metals and hydrocarbons in runoff are also problematic, he added, though experts do not yet know which is worse or if it is a synergy between them that is particularly harmful.

Rabourn recounted a recent study in which researchers put fish in water that was 100 percent runoff; half died within four hours, and 100 percent died within 24 hours. When researchers then put fish in runoff that had been filtered through soil, 100 percent of the fish survived. Scientists know that over time bugs in the water are able to break down some chemicals, but a large, fresh dose flowing into a stream — as happens during car washes and storms — is particularly harmful, he noted.

While the groundwater committee will continue to examine issues related to runoff from Vashon town, Rabourn called the car wash effort an important step.

“There are pollutants that we might have the opportunity to stop, while letting the important community fundraising events still take place,” he added. “It’s an action we are taking, moving forward at the grassroots level and solving one particular problem.”

Sunday’s eco-friendly approach to bringing the shine back to Vashon’s vehicles has its roots in county water monitoring that began a decade or more ago. Testing showed that Shinglemill Creek, which passes close to town, had fewer of certain invertebrates than a healthy creek should, according to Frank Jackson, a member of the groundwater committee.

Once committee members learned the results of that study, they reached out to Vashon Nature Center Director Bianca Perla. In 2013, she, in turn, crafted an ongoing science project for island youth, who now collect and evaluate water samples from island streams. She then shares that information with the groundwater committee.

At the same time the students’ study of streams was under way, members of the junior crew team and their families — who hold at least three car washes a year — were raising concerns about the environmental effects of their popular fundraisers, which typically bring in up to $3,000 each, according to Call.

“One of the kids’ parents works in that area, and every time she helps, she is grimacing,” Call said. “She has been gently nudging us to be more careful.”

Indeed, it was that parent, Teresa Lewis, a senior planner in the surface water management division of Pierce County, who provided for free the fish-friendly car wash kit that was used on Sunday.

Lewis, who denies grimacing, says she has encouraged the group to take action.

“I have known for years it was a problem, but there was not an easy solution,” she said.

The groundwater committee and crew club connected through masters rower Deb Jackson, who is married to Frank Jackson.

Despite the all the combined forces working on the issue, addressing the problem proved challenging. The kit’s square basin for collecting the water did not fit in the round storm drain, Lewis said, and the location of the drain itself poses a challenge, as it is near the front of the businesses. Once it is opened, it is an open pit that must be blocked off.

“You cannot have an open pit with cars going by and kids around,” she said.

Additionally, the traditional car wash location in the parking lot means that water has to travel uphill to drain. On Sunday, a large hose was laid across the lot to direct the water, and volunteers were sweeping it uphill to be pumped out and delivered to a nearby berm. The solution was not optimal, Call noted, but those involved considered the first day a pilot to see how well their plan would work.

As Call watched some parents take turns with the brooms, he said that several people involved believe that a more practical and effective approach might be to install a French drain that would catch water and divert it to a berm. It could be done fairly inexpensively, he said, but he cautioned that was just one idea.

“We have not talked to Shawn about digging up his parking lot yet,” he added.

Either way, he said, the crew team is committed to continuing the fish-friendly car washes, noting that working on the project has made the stakes clear to him.

“When you look into the storm drain, you are looking into Shinglemill Creek,” he said.

Shinglemill, Vashon’s second largest creek, has a fork that starts just west of the fire station on Bank Road and is often filled mostly with runoff, Jackson said.  The committee plans to to address larger issues of runoff from town, he added, but he stressed the importance of solving the car wash problem.

“Shall we continue to pollute, or is the way we can do it better?” he said. “Well, when you think you can do better, and you work on it, you can do better.”