Coastal Strategy and Boaters

One of the things potential buyers of small boats likely don’t get told by sellers is the problem of disposing of human waste. It’s not one of the highlights of pleasure boating, but obviously it’s necessary and the answer isn’t just tossing waste over the side.

Sixteen years ago a study found bacteria in the water was higher on weekends than during the week. That led the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board to the logical conclusion that discharges from boats were a probable source of the contamination.

Now Newport Beach, which has hundreds of boats in the water, ranging from small day-sailers to massive yachts capable of venturing far out on the blue Pacific, is about to join with the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project for an updated study.

The research is intended to determine how much boaters are contributing to high fecal coliform counts in Newport Bay. Most boaters and environmental officials think boaters are responsible for little of the pollution. But the study can provide valuable evidence of the size of the problem. And the boating component is just part of a larger study of bay pollution.

Avalon Harbor on Catalina Island has enforced anti-dumping regulations for more than a decade. Boats with built-in “heads,” as the toilets are known in nautical parlance, drop a dye tablet in the toilet. If the dye turns up in the water, the boater is banned for a year. Catalina residents say most discharges appear to be accidental, but in 12 years there have been nearly 400 boaters caught illegally dumping waste. The harbor master says bacteria levels in the water have dropped significantly since the regulations took effect.

Sometimes the pumping stations can be the problem. Last month a sewage spill that closed part of the dock area at Dana Point Harbor turned out to be due to a leak in a line from a pumping station for boats, according to harbor authorities. About 50 gallons of raw sewage spilled into the harbor in an area usually used for boat repairs but occasionally by swimmers.

By law boaters are required to empty waste either three miles offshore or into a pump-out station. The number of stations has been increased in recent years in Southern California. Boats without built-in toilets often carry portable models, which are dumped at sea or cleaned on return to shore.

Without the dye tablets, compliance with the law against discharge inside the three-mile limit is based on the honor system. Boaters have a vested interest in keeping the waters clean. The upcoming study can document how seriously most boaters take that responsibility, and prompt them to do better.