WSG News Blog

August 17, 2017

Washington Sea Grant expands its clean marina and small oil spill prevention programs on Lake Chelan  

Head down to Lake Chelan on a hot summer day, and its vast surface will be speckled with jet skis and motor boats. The locals all know there’s no better way to beat the heat in eastern Washington than to get in some quality time out on Chelan’s transparent, aquamarine water. What’s less commonly known, however, is that these very activities can ...

August 9, 2017

Two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grants will mean less pollution in Washington State Waters.

Boater sewage is a source of pollution into Washington State waters that can contaminate shellfish beds or spread waterborne diseases at popular swimming beaches. To keep this pollution at bay, Washington State Parks Department’s Clean Vessel Act (CVA) program works with the University of Washington’s Washington Sea Grant to help boaters and marinas safely dispose of vessel waste. Two recently awarded grants ...

July 25, 2016

To paraphrase an old saying, “There’s no use crying over spilled oil.” Yet many are concerned with oil pollution in Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands.

What people don’t realize is that the biggest source of spills so far in the region has not been tankers and freighters, but small recreational and commercial vessels. Small spills, such as oily bilge discharge, account for 75 percent of the oil dumped into local waters over the last 10 years.

In ...

March 29, 2016

Pumpout boats, public education, and collaboration with marinas divert 8 million gallons of onboard sewage to onshore treatment in 2015.

In 2014, Pumpout Washington, a joint project of Washington Sea Grant and Washington State Parks, helped divert a record 6 million gallons of raw sewage from Puget Sound, Lake Washington, and other state waterways. Now the 2015 numbers are in and they blow 2014’s record away. More than 8.3 million gallons that would previously have been dumped into vulnerable ...