Boating Basics

Boaters can cause serious contamination if they fail to dispose of waste properly. Keep this in mind if you are swimming near a marina or large group of boats. Under the Clean Water Act of 1977, raw sewage may not be dumped overboard within the three-mile territorial limits of U.S. waters. Also, no sewage, treated or untreated, may be discharged into certain sensitive waters called No Discharge Zones, created to protect aquatic habitats and drinking water. The U.S. Coast Guard has approved three methods for disposing of sewage

• A Type I Marine Sanitation Device (MSD) treats sewage with disinfectant chemicals and other means before it is discharged into the water. The treated discharge must meet certain health standards for bacteria content and must not show any visible floating solids.

• A Type II MSD is similar to Type I, but must meet a higher level of sewage treatment.

• A Type III device is a holding tank. When a boat reaches a marina with a pumpout station, the sewage is removed from the tank and, in most cases, is directed to a municipal waste treatment facility.