By Sara Ballenger

When Pinewood student Ashley Wright set out to have a three-hour car wash as a fund-raiser for the Interact Club at her school, she did not know she would be getting an education in law.

The city of Los Altos deniedWright’s permit application to hold the fund-raiser at the El Camino 76 Station on Los Altos Avenue Sept. 27, she said.

Los Altos city staff told Wright she needed to have some sort of drainage system in place to prevent runoff from going into city storm drains and ultimately into San Francisco Bay.

The code stems from the Clean Water Act of 1977, which regulates the discharge of pollutants into U.S. waters, including San Francisco Bay, said Los Altos Public Works Director Jim Porter.

“San Francisco Bay is an impaired water quality body,” said Steve Homan, nonpoint source pollution control program director for Santa Clara County.

“We are at the end of a permit renewal cycle. The regulations are getting difficult to meet but the water quality of San Francisco Bay is improving.”

The city and county empathize with fund-raising efforts but must follow the water regulations imposed on them by the state Water Quality Control Board, Porter said.

“We need to make sure that only clean water flows into the bay,” Porter said.

“It’s a misdemeanor of $500 to $25,000 a day for each violation for the person who did the act,” Homan said.

“Cities and counties can be fined by the regional Water Quality Control Board.”