Sinks and Shower Discharge Overboard?

[wellin]

I may be wrong but i thought in washington state anyway that any zero discharge zone means zero discharge. To keep people from dumping gray water. And black has always been illegal exept out past 3 miles offshore.

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[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by wellin

I may be wrong but i thought in washington state anyway that any zero discharge zone means zero discharge. To keep people from dumping gray water. And black has always been illegal exept out past 3 miles offshore.

Sent from my SCH-I415 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Tell that to the passing humpback whales.

[Exile]

An experienced diver friend of mine once told me that you'll never have the right perspective on this issue until you've witnessed a full grown porpoise taking a dump in the water. Tends to render the debate over sailboat discharge rather inconsequential.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

Wow that is a really unfriendly tree. I thought kiave trees had some mean thorns.

We came across these on a trip to the amazon and no you didn't want to hug them.

No pictures but other trees had nests of Bullet Ants at the base. If you tapped the tree they came charging out. Our guide showed us by tapping it with a machette and then took a good 4 steps back. You could tell he had no interest in hugging that tree.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by wellin

I may be wrong but i thought in washington state anyway that any zero discharge zone means zero discharge. To keep people from dumping gray water. And black has always been illegal exept out past 3 miles offshore.

Sent from my SCH-I415 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Wrong on two fronts. First of all, you don't have any no discharge zones in Washington State. Secondly, it is allowed to discharge gray water in no discharge zones. See: State looking for feedback on proposal to make Puget Sound a No Discharge Zone for vessel sewage | February News | Washington State Department of Ecology

[wellin]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Tell that to the passing humpback whales.

I have always thought that...but tell that to the poo police.
I do know that cold blooded fish carry no ecoli, only warm blooded animals like humans carry it. Not shure about whales. Either way i think the ecoli would not last long in the cold water.

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[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by wellin

I have always thought that...but tell that to the poo police.
I do know that cold blooded fish carry no ecoli, only warm blooded animals like humans carry it. Not shure about whales. Either way i think the ecoli would not last long in the cold water.

Sent from my SCH-I415 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

In and of itself, ecoli is pretty harmless. They use it as a marker since it's easier to develop tests to find it.

But your point about temperature is spot on. Most pathogens need something pretty close to body temperature to survive for any length of time.

Think about this:
- If you dump 3 miles off shore, it's likely going to be at least a couple hours before any of the waste gets near a beach and if you are talking 70-80 degree water temps most pathogens will be long dead.
- If you use the hot shower in the marina bath house right after someone else, any waste that got on the floor is likely to be splashed onto you within minutes while incubating in a warm moist environment.

Your odds of picking up something in the shower is orders of magnatude higher but we don't outlaw showers in the name of safety.

Employing reasonable rules in areas where people are likely to be in contact with the water makes sense. Plus there is just the gross factor. Making large bodies of water no discharge zones is a stupid knee jerk reaction.

[cheoah]

dude. you had to bring up the marina showers. ewwww..

Think I'll stick with the cockpit shower and let the water run into the scuppers where it is then recycled into fuel for my new engine.

[roverhi]

Believe the Greenies have made Richardson Bay, the water fronting Sausalito a no discharge zone of any kind. Don't know if it's in effect or enforced yet. More a way to get rid of the derelicts and anchor outs that have been a part of the local scene for decades.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

In and of itself, ecoli is pretty harmless. They use it as a marker since it's easier to develop tests to find it.

But your point about temperature is spot on. Most pathogens need something pretty close to body temperature to survive for any length of time.

Think about this:
- If you dump 3 miles off shore, it's likely going to be at least a couple hours before any of the waste gets near a beach and if you are talking 70-80 degree water temps most pathogens will be long dead.
- If you use the hot shower in the marina bath house right after someone else, any waste that got on the floor is likely to be splashed onto you within minutes while incubating in a warm moist environment.

Your odds of picking up something in the shower is orders of magnatude higher but we don't outlaw showers in the name of safety.

Employing reasonable rules in areas where people are likely to be in contact with the water makes sense. Plus there is just the gross factor. Making large bodies of water no discharge zones is a stupid knee jerk reaction.

Agreed. It's always been our view onboard that any single discharge from our macerating toilet, is consumed and fully absorbed into the ocean biomass probably within 100 meters of the point of discharge. I'm referring to a single flush, not emptying a full holding tank. This was learned by taking four years of biology and chemistry at the university... not greenie, feel-good indoctrination.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by roverhi

Believe the Greenies have made Richardson Bay, the water fronting Sausalito a no discharge zone of any kind. Don't know if it's in effect or enforced yet. More a way to get rid of the derelicts and anchor outs that have been a part of the local scene for decades.

AFAIK, Richardson Bay is a spot where the discharge of even treated sewage is prohibited. In the rest of SF Bay, I think you are allowed to discharge sewage if it has been treated with a LectraSan or similar device.

I am not aware of any ban or even proposed ban on gray water discharge there.