Galveston Bay Foundation

Education

Boater Waste Education Campaign

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.

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.

Clear Lake pumpout facilities/services

Public pumpout stations	Mobile pumpout services	Private pumpouts, member-only
Marina del Sol SouthShore Harbour Waterford Harbor	Bay Area Sanitation Engineering Maritime Sanitation	Blue Dolphin Yachting Endeavor Marina Lakewood Yacht Club Legend Point Portofino Harbour Seabrook Shipyard

Video: How to pump out your vessel

Resources

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 Julie Mintzer at (281) 332-3381 x207 or jmintzer@galvbay.org.