holding tanks, pump outs, and full time in marinas?

[vic008]

Everytime, if there is a choice, you use their facilities.(once you have had a blockage of your own, you'll understand)Holding tank can never be too big.And needs a level gauge.

[skyhawk]

I was watching a video someone posted here about french canals. The guy mentioned that water is available at most of the locks...but no mention of pump out through the whole talk about canals.

I had to chuckle with myself that the question even came to my mind.... but I suppose as with my motorhome, the convenience of having my own head is part of the appeal of that mode of travel. Well really it's more than that... it's having my own place to go....my portable hotel room...or better than that my portable house. My own bed, my own stuff....
Anyway, as I daydream about swapping my RV for a boat of some sort, I'm realizing that what appeals to me most would be various forms of coastal cruising.... and canals and rivers. Up and down the East coast, a little island to island perhaps. Perhaps a loop around the Great Lakes hitting places like Door County and Mackinac. Bouncing from nice little town, to another...mixing in a nice bit of off grid nature along the way...

and what I'm finding is not much seems to be said about this whole topic of pump-outs. Bouncing from place to place in my own house doesn't seem quite as appealing to me if I'm constantly having to worry about finding the next clean public toilet!....or do I have enough tank to make it to the next pump out!

I have bought the "e" version of Peggy's book, and I'm just skimming through and getting into this section.... but I'm finding the treatment devices curious.... I've been around boats most of my life but I didn't know about those.

[edexter]

In the Chesapeake it is common for marinas to have a central location where you pull into the slip, or by the fuel dock. I have seen carts too. Never saw dedicated hookups in each slip, but I am not wealthy enough to visit those marinas, lol. And illegally discharging sewage is a crime and might get you arrested.

[GordMay]

Under the CWA and the implementing regulations, vessels are prohibited from discharging any sewage, whether treated by an MSD or not, into the following types of water bodies:
A water body that has been designated as a no-discharge zone.
Freshwater lakes, reservoirs, or other impoundments whose entrance point(s) and exit point(s) are too shallow to allow vessels with installed toilets to enter and leave.
Rivers that do not support interstate traffic by vessels subject to section 312. See 40 CFR 140.3(a)(1) (PDF)(2 pp, 183 K).

Type I MSD: Flow-through treatment devices that commonly use maceration and disinfection for the treatment of sewage May be installed only on vessels less than or equal to 65 feet in length
Must produce an effluent with:
No visible floating solids
A fecal coliform bacterial count not greater than 1000 per 100 milliliters

➥ https://www.epa.gov/vessels-marinas-...n-devices-msds
➥ https://www.epa.gov/vessels-marinas-...sked-questions

[hpeer]

Gord,
Thanks for that info.