Keeping the harbor clean not an easy task

Concerned people periodically raise the issue with Newport Beach

officials that Avalon Harbor has successfully implemented a dye

tablet program, where dye is placed into the waste holding tanks of

boats entering the harbor. This program has been in place for more

than a decade and is, by all accounts successful in curbing discharge

of waste into Avalon waters.

So, why not implement a dye tablet program for the holding tanks

of vessels docked in Newport Harbor? It seems like an effective tool

to curtail illegal dumping of sewage into our harbors. But is this

program a magic bullet or a placebo?

It is important to first understand the city of Avalon’s dye

tablet program. Avalon Harbor has a total of 280 offshore moorings in

a small cove that is similar in size to the entrance channel of

Newport Harbor. Each boat that enters Avalon, whether resident or

guest boat, must check in with a harbor patrol boat stationed at the

entrance, 24 hours a day.

After a boat ties up on its respective mooring, the owner must

stay on board until a second harbor patrol officer stops by the boat,

collects mooring fees and places several dye tablets in each of the

heads (toilets) on board. The boat owner is then instructed to flush

the dye tablets into the vessel’s holding tank.

If there are any leaks or discharges into the harbor after the

harbor patrol officer departs, the offending vessel operator is

issued a citation. A violation will result in a fine for the boat

owner and the boat will be banned from Avalon harbor for one year.

There is an appeals process to the Avalon City Council.

Interestingly enough, no one has ever successfully won an appeal.

Part of what makes the Avalon dye tablet program a success is the

tight control exercised over the harbor entrance, but most of the

credit is attributed to the geography and topography of Avalon

Harbor.

Homes perched high above the harbor provide a great vantage point

for pinpointing violators. Other boaters are always present in the

vicinity of a discharge, and harbor patrol boats and water taxis are

constantly weaving through the mooring area. Additionally, Avalon

Harbor has a naturally high level of water clarity due to the lack of

water flow generated during tidal changes.

In contrast, the tidal flow in Newport Harbor can raise and lower

by as much as 8 feet, twice a day. During the tidal changes, millions

of gallons of seawater flow from the Upper Newport Bay and the harbor

through a 1,000-foot wide entrance channel. The result is a healthy

and significant exchange of water in most areas of the harbor.

The disadvantage of this tidal influence is that a great deal of

silt (turbidity) is stirred up and suspended in the water. Many

homeowners, visitors and boaters mistake this turbidity for some type

of water pollution when it is in fact, a natural process.

Turbidity severely limits underwater visibility and in turn, the

effectiveness of dye tablets. Tests conducted by the Harbor Patrol

here in Newport Harbor indicate that when dye is released from a

boat’s holding tank, it is visible for about five minutes under

normal conditions to a maximum of 15 minutes under optimum

conditions. If the tide is ebbing or flowing, it is nearly impossible

to pinpoint a violator unless the violation is actually witnessed.

It is also important to note that the dye is not visible during

hours of darkness, so anyone determined to flush a holding tank can

do so at night with little or no chance of being discovered.

Consider that Newport Harbor has approximately 9,000 boats docked

or moored throughout the harbor. Of these vessels, I would estimate

that about 7,000 are of significant size to have some form of head

and holding tank system. Ride through the harbor on a weekday and one

boat out of 50 may have someone on board.

On the busiest holiday weekend, maybe one in four boats is

occupied. Try to imagine attempting to contact each of these boat

owners at their residences or in the marinas, gaining permission to

board their vessel and placing dye tablets in the holding tanks. This

process would have to be repeated weekly for an effective program.

Stopping each boat when it is “moving” in the harbor is certainly

not an option, nor is setting up some form of blockade at the harbor

entrance. What we would be left with is an extremely labor intensive

program that serves only as a deterrent or reminder to the vast

majority of responsible boaters who would never consider

intentionally dumping their waste holding tanks inside of any harbor.

Are boats’ holding tanks dumped in Newport Harbor? We don’t need a

scientific study to determine this. The answer, unfortunately, is

yes. A handful of boaters are irresponsible, too lazy to visit a pump

out station or too cheap to subscribe to a mobile pump out service.

These are not the visiting boats to Newport Harbor, as many residents

might like to believe.

It is easy to assume “outsiders” cause boat pollution. The city of

Santa Barbara has recently begun a somewhat misguided dye-tablet

program aimed at visitors to that harbor, with the local boats being

exempted. Instead, I would suggest that concerned people in Newport

Harbor look for the boat that never moves from its slip or mooring

but is often occupied. The waste is going somewhere.

A handful of irresponsible boaters may never be caught polluting

our harbor, but each pollution case is aggressively investigated and

the Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol seeks prosecution. The restitution and

fines levied upon conviction by the district attorney’s office, the

U.S. Coast Guard and the Dept. of Fish and Game can run into tens of

thousands of dollars for each violation.

A new law recently signed by Gov. Gray Davis will allow Harbor

Patrol personnel to board vessels and place dye tablets into holding

tanks when there is probable cause to believe that a vessel may be

polluting. This will go a long way to solve the problem of habitual

violators.

The other issue of boat pollution in Newport Harbor originates

from responsible boat owners who are unaware that there is a problem

with their waste holding tanks. These boat owners care about clean

water and the health of our harbor. They would never dream of

intentionally polluting this magnificent harbor and bay.

Boat plumbing systems are a complicated series of valves and

twisting and turning hoses usually packed into the most inaccessible

and least desirable area of a boat. With one valve turned in the

wrong direction, or not completely closed, waste seeps into the bay.

This pollution activity could go on for months or even years on a

vessel that in all other ways is well cared for. Maybe your boat?

This is where dye tablets can be effective. In Avalon Harbor,

there are between two and 12 pollution events documented each month

depending on the level of boating activity. Almost none of these

incidents involve boaters who would intentionally pollute Avalon or

any other harbor.

The city of Newport Beach and Sheriff Carona’s Harbor Patrol work

in partnership and are committed to reducing and eliminating bay

pollution.

So what steps can we take to reduce the overall boat pollution in

Newport Harbor? Boat owner education is certainly a good start, but

the overall impact is limited. The Harbor Patrol has stepped up

efforts to identify and curtail illegal live-aboards within the

harbor. Waste pump-out stations must be both convenient and in good

working order.

To encourage pump-out station usage, it may be time to think

outside the box and explore the idea of some form of valet pump-out

service. During certain hours, an attendant might assist the boat

owner in securing his boat to a pump out station dock, pump out the

holding tank and send the boater quickly on his way. No muss, no

fuss.

How can we identify the accidental holding tank polluter?

As a pilot program, each of the Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol boats now

carries dye tablets on board. Boat owners within Newport Harbor are

encouraged to wave a deputy over to their boat, and the deputy will

supply a few dye tablets and instructions as to how to check the

boat’s waste holding tank. More than a few responsible boat owners

may be surprised at the result.

There will be no enforcement action or legal repercussions if a

boat fails this initial voluntary dye tablet test, although a follow

up inspection will be required to ensure that the problem has been

corrected.

I would strongly encourage the harbor’s yacht club officers,

marina managers and yacht brokers to adopt similar programs. Each

boat owner can make a difference in improving Newport Harbor’s water

quality.

* MARTY KASULES is captain of the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor

Patrol stationed in Newport Harbor.