Using A Marine Sewage Pumpout Station

Your local marina is legally responsible to provide a sewage pumpout station for boaters and vessel owners to use

. The whole point of this is to keep marina waters, shores and sea waters clean and safe for all types of life, whether it be human life or for fish. As people continue to enjoy the hobby of boating, they also are realizing the impact that raw and even treated sewage has on the waters. Dumping any type of sewage, treated or not, is illegal in waters that are within three miles of the United States coastline, so it is crucial that boaters comply and understand their responsibilities and their legal obligations not only for their sake, but for everyones sake.

For the most part, the sewage pumpout stations are in terrible condition in many marinas across our shores, unfortunately. There are not enough of the stations in some places, and in other places where there are enough stations, many of the units are in disrepair, improper shape or they do not work at all. This is an especially huge problem for the smaller marinas that have more limited budgets. The smaller marinas are frustrated with the legal specifications that require these waste pump out stations because oftentimes, the only suitable place to put them is at the end ties of a dock. The problem is that the largest boats, which the marinas make the most money from, are often docked at those end ties. This obviously makes it impossible for other smaller boats to reach the sewage pumpout stations.

But dont marinas get any type of public funding or grants to cover these costs? They do, but grants only cover about 75% of the costs. This is part of the reason why so many facilities remain in such disrepair they have many other pressing issues and obligations to take care of year after year. Marinas are responsible for covering the other 25% of the costs of installing and maintaining these sewage pumpout stations, and for some marinas, especially the smaller ones and those with less business, that 25% is just too great an expense.

In two specific counties in California in 2005, there were 77 marinas that had no sewage pumpout stations of any kind whatsoever. An astounding 15,500 vessels were docked at these 77 marinas! This means that 15,500 boat owners either had to dump their waste beyond the three mile marker from shore, they had to just hold their boats human waste, or they dumped it illegally. You see where the problem lies and how significant it is these were just two counties in the country! A sewage pumpout station for every single marina in the country would be ideal, but is still a long way from being a reality.

by: Phoenix Delray

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