Where do you dump?

[Mike OReilly]

Interesting Dave... I'd not heard of the ebb tide exemption before. How come you guys get this but we on the east coast don't . I haven't found an official regulation that spells this out, but this article in Yachting Canada does: Guide to Sewage Discharge Regs

Here's the magazine's statement of the exemption. It seems fairly narrow, but sensible:

For vessels in restricted waters where there is not sufficient distance between shores, and where there is no pump-out alternative, an exemption allows overboard discharge, as long as it is on an ebb tide, the vessel is in the deepest possible water and it is making its maximum cruising speed in excess of four knots. Overriding this exemption is the caveat that no solid waste can be found on a shoreline, nor can there be any surface sheen resulting from such a discharge.

Again, I really should have asked if you comply with the law in your cruising area, or do you take your own counsel as to when and where it is appropriate to dispose of your waste.

BTW, I found this as well: https://georgiastrait.org/work/cleanmarinebc/pumpouts/

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Interesting Dave... I'd not heard of the ebb tide exemption before. How come you guys get this but we on the east coast don't . I haven't found an official regulation that spells this out, but this article in Yachting Canada does: Guide to Sewage Discharge Regs

Here's the magazine's statement of the exemption. It seems fairly narrow, but sensible:

Again, I really should have asked if you comply with the law in your cruising area, or do you take your own counsel as to when and where it is appropriate to dispose of your waste.

BTW, I found this as well: https://georgiastrait.org/work/cleanmarinebc/pumpouts/

Eminently sensible rule.

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Interesting Dave... I'd not heard of the ebb tide exemption before. How come you guys get this but we on the east coast don't . I haven't found an official regulation that spells this out, but this article in Yachting Canada does: Guide to Sewage Discharge Regs

I honestly didn't know that. i thought we were all a bunch of law-breakers

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

BTW, I found this as well: https://georgiastrait.org/work/cleanmarinebc/pumpouts/

The problem with that map is afaik the pumpout at Maderia Park hasn't worked in years, the one in Lund has never been accessible when I was there, the one in Nanaimo is often full. The only one I know of that is easy to access and working is the one in Victoria. (Note: I certainly haven't been to all these ports so there may be others that work better.) But all in all BC makes it very very hard to follow the rules.

[desodave]

"BTW, I found this as well: https://georgiastrait.org/work/cleanmarinebc/pumpouts/"


Actually didn't realize that there was a pumpout in Sayward but it doesn't change the reasoning at all. Sayward is in the worst part of Johnstone Strait ... pronounced shallowing, big currents and a river entering the Strait there ... nevermind the constant big winds over the turbulence. I've gone in and out of there with my buddy prawning nearby, and I'd never take my sailboat in there unless it was an absolute emergency.



I thought the same rule would apply to the East Coast as well though

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by desodave

I thought the same rule would apply to the East Coast as well though

Apparently it does.

(e) in the case of a vessel that is in Section I waters or Section II waters but not in the inland waters of Canada or a designated sewage area, and that is of less than 400 gross tonnage and is not certified to carry more than 15 persons,

(i) the sewage is comminuted and disinfected using a marine sanitation device and the discharge is made at a distance of at least 1 nautical mile from shore,

(ii) the discharge is made at a distance of at least 3 nautical miles from shore while the vessel is en route at the fastest feasible speed, or

(iii) if it is not feasible to meet the requirements of subparagraph (ii) because the vessel is located in waters that are less than 6 nautical miles from shore to shore, the discharge is made while the vessel is en route at a speed of at least 4 knots or, if the discharge is not feasible at that speed, the discharge is made

(A) during an ebb tide, while the vessel is en route at the fastest feasible speed and into the deepest waters that are located the farthest from shore, or

(B) while the vessel is en route at the fastest feasible speed and into the deepest and fastest moving waters that are located the farthest from shore.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/....html#h-790855

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Macblaze

Apparently it does.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/....html#h-790855

Awesome! I had no idea. Why isn't this more commonly communicated? Or maybe it is and we somehow missed it.

I think this is a really great approach. In fact, I'm surprised it's not generally applied elsewhere ... or maybe it is?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Awesome! I had no idea. Why isn't this more commonly communicated? Or maybe it is and we somehow missed it.

I think this is a really great approach. In fact, I'm surprised it's not generally applied elsewhere ... or maybe it is?

I agree completely.


The treatment of waste is all about dispersal and dilution. It makes a really big difference if you're under way. Note the study on cruise ship waste linked in the other thread.


Note that it's EITHER underway at at least 4 knots OR on an ebb tide.


Perfectly sensible rule.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by peghall

If you want to know how many people who mostly cruise "enclosed" waters like LIS, SF Bay and the Chesapeake Bay that make access to open sea so impractical as to be impossible, try polling 'em to find out how many have overboard discharge pumps installed.



--Peggie

How many have had discharge pumps installed on their boats.

Many cruising boats have waste discharge pumps installed at the factory as standard equipment. That doesn't mean that they use them.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

......... The point of the poll is to try and see how many follow the laws and how many don't.

Yea, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that many folks who empty their holding tanks illegally are not going to volunteer that information.

It's like taking a poll among guys and asking how many of them cheat on their wives.

[Jono as 2234]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I try to dump in open water where there is current.

Yep. Me 2

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by rwidman

Yea, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that many folks who empty their holding tanks illegally are not going to volunteer that information.

It's like taking a poll among guys and asking how many of them cheat on their wives.

Perhaps... but the poll is anonymous. And most people who do it illegally don't believe they we doing anything wrong.

[NorthCoastJoe]

We have an Airhead so no problems.

A question what is a container?

Is pee into the sink that is open to the sea a container?

Or what if you pee into a tube that empties into the sea so you dont risk falling overboard?

As a whitewater raft guide we were told to pee in the river not on land, city people need the flavoring in the water.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by NorthCoastJoe

We have an Airhead so no problems.

A question what is a container?

Is pee into the sink that is open to the sea a container?

Or what if you pee into a tube that empties into the sea so you dont risk falling overboard?

All endless fun for lawyers. I dump my urine from a container because I don't believe it is much of a problem anywhere. But it is technically illegal, unless I'm in a constrained area and either riding the ebb tide or moving at 4 knots .

[tomlisasail]

Florida dump laws vary from east coast to west coast. East coast is the western edge of the Gulf Stream or 9 miles from land whichever comes first. West coast is 9 miles from shore.

[Mike OReilly]

So as I tally the scores, we have 41 (60%) in the obey-the-law category and 27 (40%) in the more legally questionable zone. Still not the vast majority that was claimed in the other thread.