Familiar with this sign? It's the international logo to indicate there's a pumpout!
Sewage contains bacteria, viruses, and microorganisms that can cause illness in humans and harm wildlife. *Sewage can also impact water quality by contributing nutrients like nitrogen. Excess levels of these nutrients can lead to increased growth of algae or harmful blooms. Large amounts of algae reduce levels of available oxygen in the water and impact the health of aquatic animals.
Properly disposing of sewage not only supports water quality, but it is also the **law. It is illegal to dump untreated sewage within three miles of the coast. It is illegal to discharge ANY sewage (raw or treated) from Type I, II, or III Marine Sanitation Devices into freshwater lakes, reservoirs, or enclosed bodies of water.
Follow these guidelines when boating:
Encourage everyone to use the shoreside facilities before casting off.
If you will be on the water for several hours and you don't have an installed toilet or “head" on board, bring supplies with you. Having these items available can help family and friends relax and enjoy their boating experience.
- If you have a toilet connected to a holding tank, use a pumpout station for waste collection.
- If a portable toilet or a bucket was used, dump stations are available to help with disposal.
- Floating restrooms are also available on several of Oregon's lakes, reservoirs, and some coastal bays. Check out this fun video public service announcement.
- FREE pumpouts, portable toilet dump stations, and floating restrooms can be found by using this interactive map below or this list of facilities.
- These facilities are designed to dispose of human waste only. Anything other than human waste can clog and break equipment. This can cause systems to be out of service and require repairs.
- Items such as personal wet wipes, diapers, and sanitary products go in the trash. Oil, fuels, and other chemicals can also damage the equipment. Contact local hazardous waste collection facilities for the safe disposal of these items.
Take the pledge and become a Clean Boater! Collectively, individual actions of proper
waste disposal can make a difference. Help other boaters understand ways to
control boat sewage.
Pumpout/Dump Station and Floating Restroom Locations