A Boaters Guide to
No Discharge Areas
and Pump Outs
in New Hampshire
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency New England
NEW HAMPSHIRE
DEPARTMENT OF
Environmental
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Health Protection
Sewage wastes discharged from boats may degrade water quality by introducing
microorganisms, nutrients, and chemical products into the marine environment.
•Microorganisms, which include pathogens like viruses, bacteria and
protozoans may introduce diseases like hepatitis and gastroentritis to
people in contact with the water and can contaminate shellfish beds and
cause beach closures.
•Nutrients are necessary for the growth of microscopic plants and larger
plants (seaweeds and eelgrass). However, when nutrients become too
abundant they stimulate algae blooms which may lead to loss of eelgrass
and depletion of oxygen in the water. Depletion of oxygen in water
(called hypoxia) can stress and even kill fish and other aquatic animals.
•Chemical products can be toxic to marine and estuarine life and could
pose a problem in areas where boats congregate and where there is little
tidal flushing.
Complying \vith vessel sewage discharge laws and regulations,
and using pumpout facilities, is a necessary step in protecting
public health, water quality, and the marine environment.
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Marine Sanitation Devices (Boat Toilets)
Recreational boats are not required to be equipped with a toilet, but it" they are, the
Marine Sanitation Device (MSD) must be Coast Guard approved. The approved
design holds sewage for shore-based disposal or treats the sewage prior to discharge.
The three types of MSDs are:
Type I MSDs discharge treated effluent having a fecal coliform bacterial count
not greater the 1000 per 100 milliliters of water and no visible floating solids.
Type II MSDs discharge treated effluent having a fecal coliform bacterial count
of less than 200 per 100 milliliters and suspended solids not greater than 150
milligrams per liter.
Type III MSDs are devices designed to store sewage (usually with disinfectants
and deodorants added) until it can be pumped out at a pumpout facility or dis-
charged outside the territorial seas boundary <>t three miles from shore. These are
commonly known as holding tanks.
• Vessels 65 ft and under may install a Type I, Type II, or Type III MSD.
Vessels over 65 ft in length must install a Type II or Type III.
• Portable toilets or "porta-potties" are not considered installed toilets and are not subject
to the MSD regulations. They are however, subject to die disposal regulations, which
prohibit the disposal of raw sewage within the 3 mile limit or territorial waters of the
United States, the Great Lakes or navigable rivers.
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• Shellfish beds are closed when fecal counts exceed 14 per 100 milliliters (this is the number
of colony-forming units of fecal coliform per 100 milliliters—or about one teacup of
water). Historically, swimming was not advised when fecal coliform counts exceeded 200
per 100 milliliters. Coastal recreational \vater standards are now based on enterococci
bacteria, instead of fecal coliform. Swimming is not advised when enterococci densities
exceed an average of 35 organisms per 100 ml (based on at least five samples over a 30 day
period), or 104 organisms per 100 ml for a single sample.
• Type III MSB's and "porta-potties" are the only sanitary equipment that can be used in a
No Discharge Area.
Managing Boat Waste in a No Discharge Area
When operating in a No Discharge Area Type I, Type II and Type III Marine
Sanitation Device can not be discharged. In No Discharge Areas, the US Coast
Guard regulations state that MSDs Type I and Type II must be secured to prevent
discharge. Sufficient examples given by the US Coast Guard to secure Type I and
Type II MSDs include closing the seacock and padlocking it, using a non-releasable
wire tie, using a door handle lock, or removing the seacock handle (with the
seacock closed).
Recreational boats are not required to be equipped
with a toilet, but if they are, the Marine Sanitation
Device (MSD) must be Coast Guard approved.
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Current New Hampshire
No Discharge Areas:
In 1975. New Hampshire designated all of its
inland waters as a No Discharge Area. The inland
( waterbodies of concern include: Lake Winnipesaukee,
Lake Winnisquam, Squam Lakes, Newfound Lake and Lake
Sunapee. New Hampshire has also proposed designation for
its coastal waters as a No Discharge Area. All tidal waters from
inland harbors to the three mile state limit are included, as well as
tributaries up to the tidal dams.
A No Discharge Area is a designated body of water in which the discharge of
treated and untreated boat sewage is prohibited (this does not include greywater or sink water).
Under the federal Clean Water Act it is illegal to discharge untreated (raw) sewage from a vessel
within the territorial waters (generally 3 miles from shore) of the United States, the Great Lakes and
navigable rivers. Communities in NH have taken steps to ensure better water quality in marine
waters by designating their waterbodies, harbors and coves as No Discharge Areas.
For more information, please refer to the following websites:
Connecticut: www.dep.state.ct.us/olisp/cva.HTM
Maine: www.maine.gov/dep/blwq/docgrant/pumpout.htm
Massachusetts: www.mass.gov/czm/potoc.htm
New Hampshire: www.des.state.nh.us/wmb/cva/dir_map.htm
For all of New England: www.epa.gov/ne/eco/nodiscrg/index.html or
www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/regulatory/vessel_sewage/vsdarticle.html
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INLAND/FRESHWATER
Waterbody
Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnisquam
LakeSunapee
Squam Lake
COASTAL STATIONS
Waterbody
Cocheco River
Little Bay
Little Harbor
Hampton Harbor/River
STATIONS
Marina Name
Robert's Cove Marina
West Alton Marina
Fay's Boat Yard
Mountainview Yacht Club
Silver Sands Marina
Lakeport Landing
Paugus Bay Marina
Irwin Marine
Channel Marine
Anchor Marine
Meredith Marina
Meredith Town Docks
Shep Brown's Boat Basin
Wolfeboro Corinthian Yacht Club
Goodhue & Hawkins Navy Yard
Winnisquam Marine
Sunapee Harbor - Dump Station Only
Riveredge Marina - Dump Station Only
Marina Name
George's Marina
Great Bay Marine
Little Bay Boating Club
Wentworth by the Sea Marina
Hampton River Marina
Town
Alton
Alton
Gilford
Gilford
Gilford
Lakeport
Laconia
Laconia
Weirs Beach
Weirs Beach
Meredith
Meredith
Meredith
Wolfeboro
Wolfeboro
Winnisquam
Sunapee
Ashland
Town
Dover
Newington
Dover
New Castle
Hampton
Phone Number
(603) 569-1800
(603) 875-7788
(603) 293-8000
(603) 293-0059
(603) 293-7200
(603) 524-3755
(603) 524-1233
(603) 524-6661
(603) 366-4801
(603) 366-4311
(603) 279-7921
(603) 279-4538
(603) 527-1882
(603) 569-1234
(603) 569-2371
(603) 532-8380
(603) 968-4411
Phone Number
(603) 742-9089
(603) 436-5299
(603) 749-9282
(603) 433-5050
(603) 929-1422
i printed on fully recyclable paper
EPA-901-F-05-005
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