Healthy Boat

Pump-out at a Designated Station

Please remember, Federal law prohibits the discharge of untreated sewage within all navigable US waters – and within three miles of the coast. If you have an MSD III Type system, and most smaller boats do , using pump-out facilities is the only way to legally empty your holding tank in most US waters. so, for better or worse, pump-out should be a routine part of your boating experience. The newer dock-side systems and pump-out vessels make the process relatively painless and a little less nasty – nevertheless dedicating a pair of robust rubber gloves to this task wouldn’t be a bad idea.

The Clean Vessel Grant Program has been the main instigator behind the proliferation of pump-out stations and boats; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program provides reimbursement to marinas that install pump-out facilities. The funds can support equipment purchases, operation and maintenance which, in turn, keep the waterways clean by reducing or eliminating discharge of black and gray water. Some states are underwriting, frequently in tandem with an EPA grant, the construction of pump-out facilities and then requiring that these be made available to all comers at very affordable rates.

In harbors where pump-out boats ply the waters, the services are usually free and full-service (tip appreciated!). In regions where facilities have been underwritten, the costs are either free or nominal, and “self-service” is the rule. In areas where it’s left up to the marinas, the quality, availability and cost varies widely.

A Little of the Science that Supports Holding Tanks

Some boaters act on the belief that the contents of one little holding tank won’t make much difference in their body of water, especially since the tide “flushes” it daily. But the truth is, it can make a very significant difference, and it’s one that we can control. While, for instance, more than a billion gallons of oxygen-demanding, treated effluent flows into Long Island Sound every day, it is the untreated sewage – and vessel discharge is a primary source – that infuses the waters we play in with disease-causing pathogens.

The three major reasons for using your boat’s holding tank are:

o Visually Distasteful - Although “aesthetic revulsion” is the most obvious of the three effects, it is the least important ecologically. The absence of floating waste does not mean that the surrounding waters are safe from the harmful effects of sewage discharge.

o Health Hazard - Invisible microorganisms contained in human sewage can cause infectious hepatitis, diarrhea, bacillary dysentery, skin rashes, typhoid and cholera. The most common organism is coliform bacteria, which is found in the intestines of all warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliform, including E. coli bacteria, can increase from one bacterium to over 10 million in the 12-18 hour normal digestive time. Pathogen contamination has closed beaches and shellfish beds(note that although onboard treatment facilities can reduce bacteria, they do nothing to control nutrients).

o Nitrogen Pollution - Oxygen depletion caused by an overabundance of nutrients poses a serious threat to plant and animal sea life. A major indicator of pollution by organic materials is Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), the amount of oxygen that bacteria take from water to oxidize organic matter into carbon dioxide and water. In both air and water environments, oxygen produced by plants is offset by the oxygen consumed by animals, and the reverse is true of carbon dioxide. At its worst, as in the western end of the Sound from July through September, this low dissolved oxygen state is called hypoxia. The marine ecosystem goes out of balance as soon as an external source of oxygen demand is added, such as direct discharge of human waste. At its most extreme, it results in the death of some organisms and the escape of others

Use Your Holding Tank

Number one on every boater’s “green list” should be the proper disposal of human sewage. This single measure can make a noticeable difference in the coastal environment because untreated waste can have a three-fold impact: it can be visually distasteful, it presents a health hazard, and it creates nitrogen pollution which lowers oxygen levels necessary for aquatic life (eutrophication) and causes algal blooms.

Pumping untreated “black water” overboard is also illegal. The Federal Clean Vessel Act Grant Program prohibits boaters from discharging raw, untreated sewage – which is what spews out of most sailboat holding tanks -- within all navigable US waters. That means anywhere within three miles of either US ocean. In very fragile and sensitive regions, specific “No Discharge Zones” have been designated where it is now illegal to dump even treated sewage (see discussion of NDZs).

Just the concept of a holding tank is unpleasant - there‘s no way around it. So keeping the tanks clean and working right is a priority because, as many of us have discovered, no one wants the job of fixing them – for any amount of money! At every pump-out, purge the tank by pumping the head handle(s) about 50-60 times each sending many more gallons of fresh sea water into the tank. And then pump out again – until the outflow is absolutely clear.

An additional step, cribbed from R-V users, suggests mixing water softener and a non-toxic biodegradable detergent into a jug of water, then pumping it into the cleaned out tank. The motion of the boat will slosh this mixture throughout the tank keeping the interior slick so the gunk won’t stick- and it will continue to act on the new black water until the next pump-out. (Note: Don’t combine this recipe with one of the tank treatments described below unless you understand the chemistry of each.) Also, consider a tank monitor – to prevent overfilling.

It's All About the Head

For many women, boating is all about the head – and odors of any kind are simply not acceptable. And, it is not just sewage that causes odor; it’s also all those microorganisms that are arriving with the seawater and dying and decaying. To keep the tank and hoses disinfected and smelling fresh, consider multiple approaches.

1. Choose either a bio-active (i.e.K.O. Kills), nitrate (Nitrator) or enzyme (Headzyme) treatment – each has its pros and cons, but they all break down waste (those odor-producing anaerobic bacteria) with environmentally friendly processes. Chemical treatments, on the other hand, kill bacteria but don’t destroy odors – they just mask them with deodorants – and they aren’t particularly environmentally friendly.

2. Check the connections and the hoses periodically – they wear out, get porous and then leak. When it’s replacement time, look for smooth-walled, heavy-duty, odor-free hoses.

3. Consider adding an air-injection system, which helps the waste-consuming (aerobic) bacteria thrive - like Graco’s “Sweettank.”

4. Use “good ole” Stick-Ups in the head and near the “Y” valve. Lemon smells the freshest and balances any lingering odors. Or better, a couple drops of an antiseptic essential oil.

Educating your crew and guests about good head practices will also stave off embarrassingly unpleasant situations. After you’ve given a newbie guest the regular head tour, point to the little sign that you’ve posted. It clearly reminds them how the head works and explains exactly what goes in it and what doesn’t – and notes the location of discrete disposal bags for everything that doesn’t. What goes in should be limited to human waste and reasonably small amounts of biodegradable toilet paper.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Trash & Garbage Management - Part 2

5. Use rechargeable batteries when possible and keep a portable inverter and charging units on the boat to make them convenient. When using disposable batteries, keep an eraser handy to clean off the contacts – they will tend to last longer that way (also be sure to only use batteries in matched pairs for optimal efficiency.) And dispose of them properly.

6. Keep the use of paper products to a minimum. Label a set of various size “microfiber wipers” with their intended purpose - galley counters, cockpit, heads, sole, topsides, dinghy, etc. If you do use paper towels, buy the new “variable” sheet-size rolls, it is amazing how much that reduces usage. And if paper plates are required.

7. Have a large stash of dish towels in two colors – hang two from the oven door. One for hand-drying and one for dish drying. Change them every day.

8. Three to six paper napkin per day per crew member adds up to a lot of landfill and a lot of missing trees. Consider using no-iron, cloth napkins with a variety of fun, “individual” napkin rings. We are always on the look-out for boat napkin rings when we go ashore – they’re great souvenirs. Replace the napkins every couple of days – depending on how messy the meals are…. . Alternatively – or in addition – stock post-consumer, recycled paper ones.

9. And about those black plastic garbage bags – buy 100% biodegradable and compostable one. BioBags are one option. They’re good for about 12 days before the contents start to “compost” the bag…. (And they make dog pooper bags as well.) So maybe they are not such a good idea for a long cruise – but great when frequent landfalls are planned.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Trash & Garbage Management - Part 1

Managing trash on a boat – especially if you are on a longish cruise – is a major issue. Even if you are out for the weekend or the day, dragging a big black plastic bag of trash and garbage to the dumpster is never a good feeling. Here are a few thoughts for reducing the size of that bag. A lot of these ideas are ones that many of us use at home but when we get to the boat, all those good practices seem to be pushed aside.

1. Try to minimize individual drink bottles. There are pros and cons to plastic and glass, but they all take up space on the boat and, even if most are recycled, some still end up in the landfill. Fill one gallon jug with triple filtered boat water, add five teabags and lash it to the mast every morning for a constant supply of solar tea. Step it up by adding slices of fruit.

2. Assign every crew member a “water bottle” with his/her name on it. They can be used for all kinds of drinks – maybe even cocktails. They don’t spill, and don’t fill up the sink or the trash bin. The options include Lexan plastic bottles (i.e. Nalgene in the $10 range) or higher-end customizable SIGG (Swiss Engineered Water Bottles) for about $20 that offer 144 bottle designs with a choice of 22 lids – they have light-weight aluminum exteriors with a secret formula liner.

3. Label disposable drink glasses with each crew members’ name so they can be reused for a couple days before tossing. A fine point permanent marker works well.

4. -Keep reusable Shopping bags - string and canvas -- on the boat and tuck one in your pocket when heading ashore – or take a whole raft if it’s a big provisioning run. The smaller net bags work well for produce and several can be loaded into the larger cotton ones. You could even up the ante one more notch by looking for organic cotton bags. In any event, try not to bring paper bags or cardboard boxes onto the boat – they not only fill up the garbage bags but they also provide homes to a variety of small creatures.