No San Diego bay grey water discharge?

[heysteve]

We're heading south toward Mexico and were planning on stopping in San Diego bay for a few days for R&R. I notice, however, on the port authority website this statement:

The San Diego Bay is a “No discharge” area. The discharge of grey water (galley, bath, and shower water) and black water (sewage) from any vessel while berthed, moored, or anchored in San Diego Bay is prohibited.

My guess is that ignoring the grey water discharge is an open secret and everybody does it anyway. How, for example, would you even wash you boat let alone wash your hands in the sink.

Does anybody have any experience in San Diego with this rule? Strictly enforced or largely ignored?

[senormechanico]

It must have been a regulation passed because of all the complaints made by the illegal aliens swimming around the border fence.

[Zzmeyer]

Never heard of it and don't know how any one could comply unless they don't use their sinks or showers as most boats have no ability to capture grey water. Black water is a federal regulation and pretty obvious. Could you provide a link to "Port authority"? I don't know what organization that is.

[Zzmeyer]

This is the quote from the first page of Port of San Diego web site. "All boaters must comply with federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including illegal discharges to land and water. The San Diego Bay is a “No discharge” area. The discharge of black water (sewage) from any vessel while berthed, moored, or anchored in San Diego Bay is prohibited." Note the lack of grey water restriction.

[Nicholson58]

Prohibiting gray water is nuts for small private yachts. We Cruised the Great Lakes for years where they are crazy nuts about black water and even a drop of diesel. Gray water is not restricted there.

Sounds like someone fat-fingered the cut and paste while transcribing that

[PNWSalmon]

Well, I'm sick with a cold and kind of bored, so I thought I'd do a little detective work on this. I suspected this is a commercial vessel rule, and it seems to be that way. I looked at the moorage agreements of three of four marinas, none of them list anything about grey water.



I found the San Diego Unified Port District Code, which is on their website here: https://www.portofsandiego.org/publi...-district-code


This seems to be the definitive document for San Diego Port Authority. The over 100 page document are the codes that the Port Authority exercises and enforces. There are only two mentions of "Grey" or "Gray" water (they are inconsistent, actually).


The "Grey" water code is in section 4.09 subsection 8, which says "

1. Illegal Discharge – No person shall discharge, or allow to be discharged any oil, sewage, grey water, or other materials into the waters or upon the lands of the Port District and shall obey, and comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations adopted by federal, state, District or other local government bodies, including without limitation environment laws.

"


Section 4.09 is specific to commercial fishing vessels specifically in Tuna Harbor Basin. "SECTION NO. 4.09 – REGULATION OF VESSELS – TUNA HARBOR BASIN"



Further, they define "Gray" water as:

1. “Gray Water” – Shower water that does not have any toilet, sewage, waste or polluted bilge water within it

Anyway, If you could provide a link to the website you found that, it would be helpful.



It feels like a quick phone call to the port authority tomorrow could clear this up in a jiffy, if you're really concerned, but I'm sure there's nothing to see here. Go to San Diego, enjoy the town and have a great time, it's a wonderful city.

[heysteve]

I read it on the "Visitors Dock and Anchorage" page here.

It seems nuts but it wouldn't be the first time some well meaning policy was created by non-boaters that's completely unrealistic. The new Puget Sound wide NDZ comes to mind.

[PNWSalmon]

Originally Posted by heysteve

I read it on the "Visitors Dock and Anchorage" page here.

It seems nuts but it wouldn't be the first time some well meaning policy was created by non-boaters that's completely unrealistic. The new Puget Sound wide NDZ comes to mind.

Wow, that page is interesting. The "A9" Anchoring requirements, permits, inspections, grey water, et makes me wonder how many people they let anchor in A9.

I'm afraid we've wandered in the San Diego version of anchoring wars, I'm just going to slowly back away from all this now.

[Zzmeyer]

I am willing to bet it is a drafting error. On the first page of the site they talk about black water. At the top of the anchorage page they requote it. I think PNW Salmon did a great job of researching. I've anchored for more than 40 years in those anchorages and have never once been asked about it. While it could be new, I've anchored there twice in the past month. You have to register to use the anchorage and they never mention if it is a new requirement. I know of no boats with grey water tanks for sinks - just rv. Just go ahead, register for the anchorage, anchor there and if they give you any trouble tell them I told you it was OK.

[Nicholson58]

This can only be a mistake by someone who has never been near a boat. One wonders when this happened and if serious, was there no review? What do the marina operators say? How many yachts have they outfitted with new tanks? Where the heck would you put a tank? If I shower on deck, is that gray water? This can’t be allowed to stand. What if a home owner showers on the dock. Totally unrealistic.

[CaptTom]

Has anybody called or contacted the Port of San Diego?

There's a similar issue with NY and VT both claiming sole-state sanitation system rules on the federal navigable waterways through Lake Champlain. It appears the law is not on their side, but in practice, the law is what the lawmen do. Sometimes nobody wants to be the test case.

This San Diego situation will be interesting to follow. I wonder if any organize boater groups (BoatUS? Local clubs?) will get involved.

[Viking Sailor]

FWIW. I did a quick look at the S.D. reg's - the only ref to no grey (sic) water discharge is for the commercial tuna harbor.