Puget Sound Starts Here
Puget Sound starts with you!
City of Bothell is working with hundreds of organizations across Puget Sound to challenge you to do at least one simple action that helps keep Puget Sound healthy. What will you do?
This year we're focusing on how taking care of your vehicle can help keep pollution out of Puget Sound. Learn more about how proper tire inflation, fixing leaks, and washing your vehicle safely can make a major difference in the health of Puget Sound.
Tire Maintenance
Car tires have many chemicals that help protect them from damage. As we drive, the tires wear down, leaving tiny bits of tire behind on our roads. The chemicals in the tire bits can be extremely toxic to certain kinds of fish. When it rains, the runoff picks up the tire bits and carries them down storm drains and into our waterways.
Several years ago, scientists discovered that an ingredient in tires called 6PPD, used to preserve tire rubber, reacts with ozone in the air, which transforms it into a new chemical called 6PPD-quinone that’s highly toxic to Coho salmon. Read more about the problem on Washington Stormwater Center's website.
Taking care of your tires is the best thing drivers can do to reduce wear and prevent tire pollution. Bonus: Proper tire maintenance will extend the life of your tires, save you money, and increase vehicle safety.
- Keep tires properly inflated so that they will wear down more slowly. Check your tire pressure once a month, either with your own pressure gauge or at a gas station air pump. You can find the recommended tire pressure in your owner’s manual, stamped on the tire itself, or on a sticker inside the driver’s side door. Learn more: Vehicle Tire Inflation Tips (PDF)
- Get your tire alignment checked and rotate tires according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Proper alignment and regular rotation prevent uneven wear on your tires, reducing the amount of tire particles that wear off as you drive.
Translations
Read information about tire maintenance in Spanish, Korean, or Vietnamese.
What does "Puget Sound Starts Here" mean?
First, a bit about the rain.
We know it tends to rain here. Like, a lot. When it rains, water flows over hard surfaces like roofs, parking lots, driveways, streets, and lawns where the soil has been packed down. As rainwater flows towards ditches and storm drains, it picks up dog poop, lawn chemicals like fertilizer and pesticides, motor vehicle oil, and many other pollutants along the way.
Where does the rain go next?
That polluted rainwater - also called stormwater runoff - travels without treatment right into our local streams, lakes and wetlands that eventually empty into the Puget Sound. That's what we mean by "Puget Sound Starts Here." Your actions - in Bothell or anywhere else in Western Washington - have an impact, and we all have the power to help improve water quality.
Be the solution
Learn more about how you can get involved at www.pugetsoundstartshere.org.
Take the Puget Sound Starts Here Pledge
Have two minutes to spare? Take a quick pledge to protect Puget Sound. Take the pledge now!
About Puget Sound Starts Here
Puget Sound Starts Here (PSSH) is made up of more than 750 organizations working together to raise awareness about how our everyday actions affect Puget Sound. Learn more about what we do!