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Shannon Kringen
For Washington Sea Grant, it’s all about water quality and educating boaters and marinas on preserving the waterways.
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Washington Sea Grant
The bilge pillows distributed by the Washington Sea Grant.
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Washington Sea Grant
Demonstrating the threaded adapter for efficient waste water discharges.
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Washington Sea Grant
The WSG’s visits marinas, boat shows, and yacht clubs in Puget Sound and parts of Canada to educate boaters on oil spill and careless waste water discharge prevention.
Words by Steve Fennell
Preserving the waterways of any region is not an easy task. Yet, since 2009, Washington Sea Grant and their partners have invested time, effort plus clear messages and preventative tactics for recreational boaters and marinas to create a stronger environmental foot print in Puget Sound. So far, the results have been impressive.
Washington Sea Grant, based at the University of Washington, works in partnership with the Washington State Parks Clean Vessel Act Program and the Washington Department of Ecology to educate boaters and marina operators on various ways they can preserve and protect marine life, water quality and coastal ecosystems. These efforts – through two initiatives called the Small Oil Spill Pollution Prevention program and Pumpout Washington program – aim to prevent accidental oil spills and black water discharge among marinas and recreational boaters. In fact, the program just finished its ninth summer of reaching out to the boating community, and boaters and marinas are very receptive to their efforts.
“We are one of the oldest and largest Sea Grant programs in the U.S. and we work with universities in Washington to conduct outreach, education, communications and cutting edge marine-related research,” says MaryAnn Wagner, assistant director of communications for WSG. “We just finished our summer campaign, working directly with boaters in Puget Sound, providing them with tools for managing small bilge oil spills and ensuring proper sewage pump out practices. For us, it’s all about water quality and education. That’s our key role.”
According to Wagner and the team at WSG, the Pumpout Washington program was launched in 2009 by Washington State Parks at a time when only 4 million gallons of black water were reportedly placed into pump out facilities by recreational boats in the Puget Sound region. For 2018, WSG expects to break the 11 million-gallon mark. The Small Oil Spill Prevention program began more than 26 years ago at the request of the Washington Department of Ecology and continues to be strong today.
To help spread awareness and prevention – with funding and staff support provided by the Washington Department of Ecology and the Washington State Parks Clean Vessel Act Program through the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife – WSG’s outreach staff visited marinas, boat shows, and yacht clubs in the Puget Sound area and parts of Canada, educating boaters and distributing pump out kits and small oil spill prevention kits. The oil spill kits include a small absorbent pillow that is placed alongside bilge pumps to prevent oily discharges into the water.
The team, headed by Aaron Barnett, Boating Specialist, and Bridget Trosin, Coastal Policy Specialist at WSG, also distribute a sewage pump out adapter with a universal-threaded nozzle that securely connects the waste tank nozzle to the waste tank port to effectively empty tanks, eliminating any spillage or human contact with black water. Both tools are free of charge.
“We are enhancing the boating experience,” says Barnett. “We can’t give away enough of them at events, they are so popular. The oil spill situation is a highly-regulated issue and we help with that.”
To provide added support to marinas, WSG also hosts specialized workshops for marina operators, educating them about various grants available through the Clean Vessel Act and Washington State Parks. According to Trosin, the funding assists with the purchase of pump out stations and in some cases, infrastructure costs for new docks at marinas.
“What marinas can do is apply for funding to have a pump out station installed at their marina, which covers up to 75 percent of the equipment and maintenance costs,” says Trosin. “Plus, there are other grants available in Washington State to assist with new docks. The workshops help marinas understand the grants and what is available to them.”
So far, with strong enthusiasm from recreational boaters and marina operators in the Puget Sound, the goal of preserving waterways is making headway. In concert with Washington State Parks and the Department of Ecology, efforts to reduce oil and black water will once again be moving forward in 2019 with similar outreach to the boating community.
“Boaters and marinas always need to be kept informed since they are out there to enjoy clean water,” says Wagner. “WSG and our partners want to help boaters and marinas find the easiest means possible to improve water quality and take care of our waterways.”
For more details and information visit https://wsg.washington.edu