UNITED STATES
USING BOAT SEWAGE PUMPOUTS
A clean marine en- vironment is very im- portant for everyone
to enjoy the beautiful bodies of water throughout Washington. Boaters help keep Washington’s waterways clean by disposing of boat sewage at pumpouts or dump stations. Washington offers more than 100
disposal facilities with a variety of sta- tionary and portable pumpouts to pro- vide a convenient way to properly dis- pose of boat sewage. Look for the Federal Clean Vessel Pro- gram symbol at the entrance to a marina advertising the presence of a pumpout and/or portable toilet dump station. Remember, it is illegal to dump any
untreated sewage into inland lakes, riv- ers, or coastal waters inside the three- mile limit.
Pump-Out Pointers • Use public toilets on shore whenever possible. • Keep your marine sanitation device in good operating condition. • To help prevent clogs, look for rapid dissolving marine toilet tissue specific- ally designed for the purpose. • Post use instructions near head. • Find a pumpout station. It only takes a few minutes to pump the waste out of a 15 gallon holding tank. • Follow pumpout instructions. • If instructions aren’t posted or aren’t clear, ask the marina operator. Encour- age the marina operator to post easy- to-understand instructions. • When finished with pumpout, rinse water through the system for one minute. • Expensive breakdowns commonly occur when the marina’s sewer line gets clogged because of inadequate rinsing. Flushing water through the system is cheap preventative maintenance and helps prevent odor. • Use environmentally compatible hold- ing tank deodorants. • Pumpout only your holding tank.
Pumpouts are not designed to handle bilge water or solid objects. • Some boaters pump out their holding tanks and then drive off, leaving the unit still running. Make sure the pump is off before pulling away so it will work for the next boater. • Don’t forget to wash your hands when you are done.
• Consider using a mobile pumpout service if you don’t want to service the holding tank yourself.
Don’t waste away our waterways! Proper disposal of sewage protects our waterways and allows the living things to keep on living.
Pump, Don’t Dump
In 2010 Mark Schrader completed a 28,000-mile “Around the Amer- icas” voyage aboard the cutter Ocean Watch, navigating through the
Northwest Passage and around Cape Horn before returning to his home- port of Seattle. Here’s a message from Mark to his fellow boaters:
“The science is clear. Raw sewage degrades our waters and threatens our health. The law is clear, too. It’s illegal to dump untreated sewage in Puget Sound or within three miles of shore. The State of Washington has a superb network of boat pumpout facilities, so it’s easy — and almost always free — to do the right thing: pump, don’t dump.”
www.pumpoutwashington.org
Through the Clean Vessel Act Grant, the federal government, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Com- mission and public and private marinas share the cost of construction, renovation, operation and maintenance of pumpout stations.
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www.suncruiser.ca I 2012 SunCruiser WEST COAST
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