Holding tanks - is anyone serious?

lw395 said:
That doesn't include the long sea outfalls does it?
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I worked on the construction of the Weymouth and Portland long sea outfall and I can confirm that there is no pre-treatment apart from a 4mm screen. And anything that is caught on the screen goes through a macerator and back for another go through the screen! Extensive studies on both the Weymouth and Tenby long sea outfalls have found no significant environmental damage.
 
Concerto said:
Discharging into the sea by yachts is minimal compared to the amount discharged by houseboats. Yachts are used generally for a limited number of days a year, whereas houseboats are used every day of the year.

One man dropped a tool off his boat into the soft mud and plunged his arm in to retreive it. He then washed it off and thought nothing more about it until his skin started reacting some hours later. He ended up in hospital for over 3 months and nearly died of blood poisioning. It took over a year for his skin to clear up and has left him with a very poor immune system. There is no requirement for house boats not to discharge overboard.

.
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Well if some one pokes their tool in the mud they can expect to get it dirty.
However, was the cause of the infection sewerage or discharged chemicals from other sources?
It could be constituents like mercury etc that can be the serious risk. I do not recall dumping any mercury, although I have not checked recently !!!
 
Daydream believer said:
Well if some one pokes their tool in the mud they can expect to get it dirty.
However, was the cause of the infection sewerage or discharged chemicals from other sources?
It could be constituents like mercury etc that can be the serious risk. I do not recall dumping any mercury, although I have not checked recently !!!
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Infection from sewage, it was continually decomposing in the mud of the marina. There are 40 to 50 houseboats just upstream, so imagine the total quantity of effulent being discharged every day of the year.
 
When I was expected to drive a pump out in a previous job we found that due to the construction of the pump, aluminium, its life was only about six to eight months.

j
 
The humble Porta Potti (sp) has many advantages. The simple model can be separated from the tank and carried ashore - no pump out. After a few years when it starts to look grubby and whiffy swap it for a new one.

There are de-lux versions that can be plumbed in.
 
jac said:
+1To compare with Dutch waters is crazy. The Dutch have extensive inland waterways where a holding tank is a great idea.Taking it several miles offshore and dumping into an area of high tidal flow is very very different.
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More than 12 miles to be legal in Holland. But most Dutch boats don't have holding tanks anyway.
 
I've just had my first season with a newly fitted 85ltr. holding tank.

It's been great not to have to go all the way to the marina loos first thing in the morning or to worry about soiling the local beaches when at anchor.

Just a few miles out and pump out, is far better for peace of mind and a must in many countries.
 
We fitted an electric loo that macerates everything, what comes out is all liquid. The stuff just dissipates, the volume of loo waste in a flush is probably about 0.01% of a wheelie bin volume, so how minute a percentage is it of the volume of a typical anchorage? A standard Jabsco is a different matter as it pumps out whole sheets of loo paper and floating solids.
 
Lazy Kipper said:
We fitted an electric loo that macerates everything, what comes out is all liquid. The stuff just dissipates, the volume of loo waste in a flush is probably about 0.01% of a wheelie bin volume, so how minute a percentage is it of the volume of a typical anchorage? A standard Jabsco is a different matter as it pumps out whole sheets of loo paper and floating solids.
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I can't speak for a Jabsco, but nothing gets thro the pump of our Lavac in one piece, it all comes out well shredded - ideal fish, crab, muscle & cockle food really.
 
Slight thread drift...

One of the docks we use only in the busy season was covered (really covered!) in seagull **** - we were wearing gloves to handle the dock lines.

The harbor authority are not allowed to wash it off into the harbor as it is classed as being hazardous, instead they send a barge which is like a big carpet cleaner that washes it off and suck the dirty water up.

I assume that all the resident and visiting birds have been told not to poop in flight...

W.
 
Here in turkey it is now illegal to pump out holding tanks in Turkish waters though pumping out offshore is still common practice and yacht charter companies are still advising to do this. however a few private larger yachts have been spotted from the air by their slick when pumping and fined very heavily.
The system is policed by whats called the blue card system where you have to buy a blue plastic credit card type card and present this when pumping out ashore your cards chip is recorded on a computer system and a record is kept. The authorities have worked out how much waste you should have with regard to size no of heads,cabins etc.
So far I have not heard of anybody being fined for this but the coast guard have been checking if you have got blue cards and issuing warnings if not.
 
lw395 said:
That doesn't include the long sea outfalls does it?
Click to expand...

DJE said:
I worked on the construction of the Weymouth and Portland long sea outfall and I can confirm that there is no pre-treatment apart from a 4mm screen. And anything that is caught on the screen goes through a macerator and back for another go through the screen! Extensive studies on both the Weymouth and Tenby long sea outfalls have found no significant environmental damage.
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You may care to take a look at "Waste water treatment in the United Kingdom – 2012. Implementation of the European Union Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive – 91/271/EEC” (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa..._data/file/69592/pb13811-waste-water-2012.pdf) from which the following quotes are taken:

“The Directive required secondary treatment for agglomerations greater than 15,000 p.e. by the 31 December 2000 and at that date the UK was 90% compliant with the requirement. By the end of 2007 the UK was 99.9% compliant.”

“Although the Directive requires secondary treatment of discharges to coastal waters from agglomerations above 10,000 p.e., in England and Wales secondary treatment has generally been provided for coastal discharges from agglomerations between 2,000 and 10,000 p.e.”

(Note: p.e. – population equivalent; secondary treatment – to biologically break down and reduce residual organic matter.)

PS I don't know about the current positions and p.e.'s for the specific discharges mentioned by DJE, but the report confirms, I believe, the general point which Searush was making about pre-treatment of marine discharges.
 
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Concerto said:
Discharging into the sea by yachts is minimal compared to the amount discharged by houseboats. Yachts are used generally for a limited number of days a year, whereas houseboats are used every day of the year.
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I always wondered about the situation in Bembridge harbour.... the place does get a bit stinky at low water.... anyone happen to know if they are plumbed in to sewers?
 
Apropos of not much, we fitted an 80 litre holding tank and a Dometic Vacuflush electric heads this year fr our trip to the Netherlands.

Because our flush is as little as 0.6 litres, our holding tank lasted a week between the 2 of us on board plus guests for drinkies.
We went to 4 separate location between Middelburg and Zierikzee and all of them mysteriously were awaiting spare parts. So we never actually got to empty our tank by pump out.

As Lazy Kipper alluded, our pump out is very liquid.

I was quite chuffed that the system worked efficiently, and the pump out time was quicker than I had anticipated.
 
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