Kayaking with a Toilet

Winter 2007

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

by Mike Richards

Dealing with our bodily waste has always been an issue for those of us who spend much time out on the water in boats of any size. Many of us have, at one time or another, seen the product of a head flushed nearby or experienced the smell as a holding tank has been emptied. But even for responsible folks, the challenge of what to do with sewage has been interesting. Some new regulations being introduced by Transport Canada under the Canada Shipping Act has bought many of those issues to the forefront over recent months. Now it seems that much more of our coastal waters will not be allowed to be a dumping ground (excuse the pun) for sewage from boats of any description. Although the regulations are not law yet, it seems likely that they will be before too long. For those with motherships, this brings the opportunity to look at things in a different light.

WHAT WILL THE NEW REGULATIONS ACTUALLY SAY?
Essentially, it will be illegal for sewage to be discharged from any vessel that’s not powered just by oars (and I assume paddles) in any near shore areas of our coastal waters. Large vessels including sewage-laden cruise ships will have to be at least 12 nautical miles offshore to discharge. For the rest of us, our poop will be able to be discharged 3 nautical miles or more from shore or, where the distance from shore to shore is less than 6 miles and there is no pump-out service available, then the discharge must be as far from land as practicable with the current moving away from the shore. Those vessels with a marine head will have to have either a holding tank onboard or a marine sanitation device (MSD) that will treat sewage to specific criteria. Sewage treated to those criteria can be discharged inside 3 miles. In specially designated areas (which are the same as the current no-discharge zones) the specified criteria will be significantly stricter. Currently there are no MSD systems available for smaller vessels that will reach the specified criteria for discharge within 3 nautical miles, so for most of us that means a holding tank.

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH BOAT SEWAGE ANYWAY?
We all like to point the finger at Victoria, which continues to dump billions of gallons of raw sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca each year, while as boaters and paddlers we really contribute little to the overall amount. Well, Victoria has recently been ordered to clean up its act and now it looks like it’s our turn. The challenge with boats is that we tend to congregate in sensitive areas and have a severely concentrated effect. Think of those crowded anchorages on a busy summer weekend! With more and more boats on the water each year, sewage is becoming an issue we can no longer ignore. Apart from being a serious human health issue and contaminating shellfish beds, raw sewage can also sometimes contain endocrine disrupting chemicals that affect marine life. For those of us who use holding tanks already, there are some other challenges too. Some chemical treatments can be toxic to marine life and can shut down septic systems if introduced via a pump-out or by dumping a porta-potty. Studies in California have estimated that the amount of faecal coliforms from one boat’s holding tank over a weekend can be the same as from a city of 10,000 people with secondary treatment! Each year many shellfish beds are closed due, at least in part, to the effect of vessel sewage.

CHALLENGES TO COMPLYING
On the surface, the idea of restricting sewage discharge into our beautiful kayaking waters seems terrific. Who wants to paddle where someone has gone to the toilet! However, the bureaucrats in Ottawa didn’t include one of the main recommendations from the west coast advisory group, and that was to develop a plan to create more sewage pump-out services throughout the coast so boaters, including those of us on motherships, can comply with the new regulations. A five-year phase-in period is included for the regulations and will allow time for some infrastructure development by private marinas and harbor authorities, but many will simply not be able to afford the installation and maintenance costs. So where does that leave us? As well as encouraging our governments to address this issue, several groups, including the not-for-profit Georgia Strait Alliance are researching alternative funding sources for pump-out infrastructure, and are looking into practical solutions to the technical challenges of providing services in remote areas.

WHAT CAN WE DO IN THE MEANTIME?
If you haven’t already, install a holding tank. When installed properly with adequate ventilation, there is rarely a serious odor problem and chemicals are often not necessary. If you do have a challenge with odor, be sure to use non-toxic or biological treatments. Always hold your sewage onboard in anchorages and other enclosed or sensitive areas. Encourage crew and guests to use shore-side facilities if they are available. The best option for sewage disposal is to use pump-out stations wherever you can. When a pump-out is not available, be sure to dump while underway and as far as possible and/or practicable from land in the deepest and best-mixed waters. Take the extra effort and time to manage your sewage responsibly and you’ll be rewarded many times over and not just with clean anchorages and pristine paddling grounds. Some of our best days on the water have started just because we had to take the boat out in order to use a pump-out station or to head a long way off shore to empty our holding tank.

Happy paddling!

Mike Richards coordinates the Georgia Strait Alliance’s Green Boating Program. Contact him at 250-753-3459 or mike@GeorgiaStrait.org