Friends of Casco Bay - Many boats have toilets, often called “heads.” These toilets are attached to holding tanks that store boaters’ sewage until it can be pumped out and disposed of properly.
One boater dumping their
untreated sewage into the Bay can have a big impact on the health of our
waters. According to the EPA, the amount of bacterial pollution from
one weekend boater’s discharge of untreated sewage is equal to the
amount from the treated sewage of 10,000 people during the same time
period.
This is why we advocated for Casco Bay to be a
federally-designated No Discharge Area. Thanks to our work, the Bay
became the first No Discharge Area in Maine in 2006. Since then, it has
been illegal to release blackwater (raw or treated sewage) from any
vessel into the Bay. All boats in Casco Bay must hold their blackwater
until it can be disposed of at a pumpout facility.
This is where our mobile vessel pumpout service comes in! Friends of Casco Bay provides an easy, practical, and ecological way for boaters to get rid of their waste. Our Pumpout Coordinator, Andy Neilson, captains our custom-made pumpout vessel named Headmaster. Using a special pump on Headmaster, he transfers the sewage from recreational and commercial boats into our 600-gallon tank for shoreside disposal and treatment. - Pumpout