If I understand this, lots of us have various sources of grey water that, for reasons that I don’t understand, empty into their bilges. BLACK water (from the head) does not count here. I’m talking about sink water (soap, food waste, wash water, etc) or shower waste (soapy water) - that is GREY water, right ??
The idea that this funky water is sloshing about underfoot and contributing to a less than fastidious atmosphere aboard is nasty. It adds dampness (mildew, maybe ?), unwanted odours, etc. I also have heard of the water in the bilge being pumped into a sink to go overboard - that’s really interesting !!
I was only just made aware of stringent regs regarding the flushing of GREY water out into the watercourse in certain areas. I guess that this really means that grey water SHOULD go into a separate holding tank. Is that correct ??
Years ago, Sandra and I rented a houseboat in Friesland in the north of Holland (highly recommended, by the way). I asked about holding tanks and was told (by the largest and best rental outfit) that there were none aboard. It ALL (yup .. THAT, too) just flushes overboard into the pristine Dutch canals and “nature takes over”.This was followed by “Oh sure, we all swim in the canals. You can drink the water”. No joke !! In Holland, not exactly a third-world country. The upshot - the canal water certainly appeared clean and did not smell, one bit.
Bottom line - the very idea of emptying all of that water into your basement just doesn’t sound like “the best way”.
I think the grey water question came up before and I believe the answer for Canada was we couldn’t find the Canadian regulation. It would be Federal if it is on the water. There is no mention of grey or black water in the Canada Shipping Act Small Vessel Regulations (SOR/2010-91)
Maybe it’s an environmental regulation and has nothing to do with boats?
In any case my two sinks drain out and not into the bilge. That would be horrible.
The US one, I believe for the Great Lakes, hard to find as well, was:
This Act may be cited as the ``Clean Boating Act of 2008’'.
SEC. 2. DISCHARGES INCIDENTAL TO THE NORMAL OPERATION OF
RECREATIONAL VESSELS.
Section 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
1342) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(r) Discharges Incidental to the Normal Operation of Recreational
Vessels.–No permit shall be required under this Act by the
Administrator (or a State, in the case of a permit program approved
under subsection (b)) for the discharge of any graywater, bilge water,
cooling water, weather deck runoff, oil water separator effluent, or
effluent from properly functioning marine engines, or any other
discharge that is incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, if the
On Lionheart there was no factory provision to empty grey water into the bilge. The galley sink and the head sink both drain directly overboard, and the shower sump pump leads to the head sink drain. (Hint: If your shower sump pump empties into the head sink basin via a topside spigot, get yourself a dishwasher type sink drain tube with a side tap to attach the shower pump drain line.It’s much neater and avoids soap scum or overflows in the basin. Or, install a cockpit shower and use the one below decks to store beer provisions.)
When I bought Lionheart I noticed that a factory installed foot pump in the galley was connected to a two-way valve, which allowed one to use it either to drain the refrigerator/ice box overboard through a spigot at the galley sink, or to pump fresh water from the water tanks to that same spigot. I didn’t like the second option after I would have used the first. Granted, using ice to cool the contents of the ice box would create a lot of drainage, but included would be spilled milk or other food by-products. And if the electric fresh water pump failed the foot pump would be useful, but I didn’t care. So since we had electric refrigeration and didn’t use ice I removed the foot pump and the 2-way valve, and left the refrigerator drain tube leading to the bilge, but plugged. The sink spigot was replaced with a high quality drinking water dispenser and filter fed by the main water pump. When it became necessary to drain the refrigerator box I did it by using the drain tube fed into a small container.