Are any boaters following the law?

[Cheechako]

For me it depends on where I'm at. I will dump outside in current or blue water. I wont dump in an anchorage, especially a busy one with many boats. I might dump in an exposed anchorage with current that goes through if I have to.

[Olddan1943]

I have been known to pee in the shower. SMIRK

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by Navicula

the hardest thing for me in georgetown bahamas is to step out of my dinghy at the beach and step into knee high water....knowing that hundreds of boats there are simply dumping while at anchor

And in a more enclosed system such as inside a bay where I am, and where I dive my boat, that thought is really gross and potentially dangerous.

[Boat Named Sue]

Originally Posted by Olddan1943

I have been known to pee in the shower. SMIRK

If that's the standard, then I too am guilty.

I'll be glad to share the marina name AFTER I cast off. I've got a few more days here and I don't need trouble.

Totally agree that boat discharge is a drop in the $hi##er compared to municipalities pumping millions of gallons of raw sewage every time rains. Not sure raising taxes will solve that problem, as that money would also be flushed down the drain.

This marina does have a dock waste system, but instead they rolled out a cart with a ~50 gallon tank and a massive pump that plugged into the shore power. Sucked the crap right out. Took two guys to push it around the docks. Totally understand why they don't want to do the job, but if you advertise mobile pump out...

As for calling the Poo-Poo police, not sure if I want to go all "Judge Judy" on everyone for being one of the smallest offenders of water pollution.

[taxwizz]

My advice....
Don't swim in any marina.
And don't fish there either.

[akprb]

It’s a non problem like most non problems concocted to create “jobs”, virtue signal and to “feel” good.

Sailors are rebels by definition :-)

[Olddan1943]

Originally Posted by taxwizz

My advice....
Don't swim in any marina.
And don't fish there either.

+1
Especially and is assuming only one entrance/exit.

[Fiveslide]

I seemed to be the only boater using the pump out cart regularly where we last lived aboard. Some payed the pump out boat. The others, through my powers of deduction, were dumping illegally in the marina. Not too many, but it still pissed me off that they put no effort into following the laws when I tried everything to follow the law.

I was walking to the shower house one day when a gentleman used his toilet. I could tell he was flushing because sewage was coming out of his vent, dripping down his topside into the water. Lovely.

I did my very best to dispose of waste legally. A few times, my engine might have been out of order at the same time the cart or pump out boat were also out of order and I switched to direct discharge for late night pees. I never emptied a holding tank in a harbor.

[Dehler 25]

Gulfport has made major strides to help prevent outflows as a result of heavy rain which would appear as geysers from manholes and they seemingly have done it without tripling anyone's taxes.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by pesarsten

While you are making calls, perhaps you can get the the city of st pete to stop dumping millions of gallons of raw sewage into Boca Ciega bay every time it rains hard! No penalties for them though. That's just a case of s--t happens!

So so true. This one happens everywhere. I think it is used to justify individual dumping by some boaters. Do as I say, not as I do.

We sailed on the Great Lakes for many years. I remember the furor over the ZDZ laws at least forty years ago. Nobody had a tank and no facilities. I can’t think of anyone now who would dump un this zone. We all pee over the side but nobody dumps a tank. Pump outs are too cheap and available to challenge this law. We installed an Air Head to s zone even easier. We abide by ZDZ rules absolutely in the US and are especially careful in fresh water and mixed zones. Cold and fresh water is way less tolerant of casual pollution.

Once we moved to the Caribbean we tried for a while to continue the Great Lakes practices but the entire Caribbean doesn’t give a s—-. There are no pump out facilities in most areas. One was opened proudly in Gorda Sound, Virgin Gorda but the fee was $75.0 US! Most of the Caribbean countries say you must hold and empty XX distance offshore. Not enforced. In Martinique, Marin Harbor for instance, there is no pump out, more than 1000 boats, nobody leaves. The plus is that the warm waters and bio diversity seems to handle it well. Water is clear, nobody swims. high fertility grows stuff on your boat and dinghy very fast.

[Comix Bay]

Originally Posted by Olddan1943

I have been known to pee in the shower. SMIRK

How GROSS!! Before or after soaping up??

Ted VA7YQQ
Comox, BC

[ArmyDaveNY]

It's interesting that you mention this. First, in the two marinas I have boats in, most if not all of the live aboard people I know use the marina facilities for their more solid needs. I don't know of anyone who has admitted to dumping it overboard. Second, there is a place near me called the Newtown Creek that has a few live aboards squatting on a sea wall. The local association devoted to improving the health of the creek is concerned about the four or five live aboards dumping their sewage into the creek. The absurdity of this is that there are some 17 CSOs (Combined Sever Overflows) on the creek that dump many thousands of tons of raw sewage each day into the creek. They are worried about a supposed few pounds a week from a few boats but not about tons of it from the city.

[Rigdaddy]

Originally Posted by Boat Named Sue

I’m not looking for admissions of guilt, but in your experience, how many boaters comply with sewage discharge laws?

I ask because for the last two weeks I’ve been in a marina in Tampa Bay...

Is this normal? Do most boaters ignore the discharge laws, even when inside the marina?

I can't say about Florida marinas, but I've been on a mooring in Key West since June, and they are very conscientious about pumping out weekly.

[Dehler 25]

municipalities don't pump but rather suffer from the intrusion of rain water that overflows the system. Gulfport has a system where hook ups are available at every other slip and the hose is contained in a dock box, you do however need to request they turn it on.

[senormechanico]

If anyone doubts the double standard between government and citizens of the USA, read this article from the Seattle Times regarding the catastrophic failure of the West Point Sewer system in early 2017.
There are some real gems here.
My favorite line:


"The plant discharged 244 million gallons of untreated stormwater and sewage through a 40-foot-deep emergency bypass outfall during two separate events on Feb. 9 and 15-16, 2017. The bypasses consisted of approximately 85 to 90 percent stormwater."


https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...rely-affected/

The gist of this article is "It's OK because it's diluted."


We have an ElectroScan which is Coast Guard approved and exceeds Federal standards now illegal in Washington State.

My question, isn't any typical marine flush (treated or not) approximately 90 to 95% water?