Education
Boater Waste Education Campaign
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Project Overview
The purpose of Galveston Bay Foundation's "Boater Waste Education Campaign" is to decrease the incidence of boater sewage discharge into the Galveston Bay estuary, particularly Clear Lake that has the third highest concentration of privately owned marinas in the United States. The campaign emphasizes the environmental harm caused by raw sewage and how boaters can properly dispose of their waste. GBF has overseen the development and distribution of the message with the advice of a workgroup comprised of, but not limited to, stakeholders from GBEP, TCEQ, Clean Texas Marina Program, Clear Lake Marina Association, and environmental NGOs. This boater waste topic was also featured at the 2010 Restore America's Estuaries Habitat Restoration Conference as a poster.
Information for Boaters and Marinas
A message for Clear Lake users: By discharging boater sewage into the water, disease-causing microorganisms may render the water unsuitable for swimming and recreational use. Additionally, sewage can lead to depressed oxygen levels resulting in fish kills.
The law: No untreated sewage may be discharged from boats into Texas waters within 3 miles of the coast. It is illegal to discharge untreated waste into Galveston Bay. Clear Lake is a federally-designated No Discharge Zone. It is illegal to discharge both treated and untreated sewage into Clear Lake. In order to properly dispose of boater waste, you must use an approved pump-out device, station, or service.
Galveston Bay/Clear Lake Pump-Out Guide
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Mobile pumpout services |
Private pumpouts, member-only |
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Marina del Sol |
Maritime Sanitation Redfish Island Marine  |
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View Galveston Bay Area Pump-Out Facilities in a larger map |
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Video: How to pump out your vessel
Resources
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Clean Boating Tips Pledge to be a Clean Boater Pledge to be a Clean Marina Here's the Scoop on Poop...Don't Pollute! |
How to Become Involved
If you are interested in participating in the Boater Waste Education Campaign work group, or would like more information about the project, please contact Charlene Bohanon at (281) 332-3381 x215 or cbohanon@galvbay.org.
Collaboration/Partners
