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Purchase Of New Pumpout Boat Rings In Upcoming Boating Season
TOMS RIVER - With the start of boating season just a few weeks away, the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders is gearing up its pumpout boat program.
"This season, we will be adding a fourth pumpout boat that will be used to help keep clean the Silver Bay area of the Toms River and Barnegat Bay," Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said of the near $60,000 purchase of the 21-foot boat from Bay Sails Marine of Massachusetts.
"We expect that boat to arrive sometime in July," the director added.
In the meantime, the three pumpout boats that already help to keep wastewater from entering the bay will begin operations getting underway at the end of May.
Pumpout boats are specially equipped boats capable of emptying the on-board toilets and holding tanks of other boats.
As part of the program, the freeholders are getting ready to enter into agreements with the municipalities operating the boats: Seaside Park, the Tuckerton Seaport and Brick Township.
The county will provide $20,000 for the operation of each boat, with the Ocean County Utilities Authority providing an additional $30,000 to the county to help offset the operational costs.
As tradition holds, Vicari said that elementary school children will be asked to tap into their creative minds for a special nautical project.
"Because the new boat will primarily service boats in the Silver Bay area, we will be asking fourth and fifth graders at Silver Bay Elementary School in Toms River to participate in a name the new boat contest," Vicari said. "This process has been very successful in the past, as it has introduced young school children to the importance of keeping our water and the environment clean."
Vicari is confident in the students' abilities and potential.
"We know they will do a great job with providing a great name for this boat," Vicari said.
Vicari, who also serves as liaison to tourism and the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program, noted that during the 2007 summer months, the pumpout boats collected almost 80,000 gallons of wastewater from boats using the bays and rivers in Ocean County.
Seaside Park owns the Circle of Life which was the first pumpout boat in New Jersey. The boat started operations in 1998 and services central Barnegat Bay off of Island Beach State Park. In 2007, the Circle of Life serviced 1,462 boats and pumped almost 26,000 gallons of wastewater.
Tuckerton Seaport operates the Waste Watcher for Ocean County in Little Egg Harbor Bay and Tuckerton Creek. The boat began service in 2001. This past summer, the boat pumped 17,320 gallons of wastewater from 640 boats.
Brick Township has operated the Bay Saver for Ocean County since 2003. The boat services the Metedeconk River and northern Barnegat Bay. The Bay Saver serviced 1,683 boats during the 2007 boating season and removed 34,230 gallons of wastewater.
"Practically, the entire inter-coastal area of Ocean County is covered by these three pumpout boats," Vicari explianed. "In addition to the boats, there are approximately 75 pumpout stations at county marinas up and down the coast."
"The pumpout boats are intended to service
areas that are not readily accessible
to marina based pumpout units," he added. "This fourth boat will be a big help."
The county expects to be reimbursed the cost of the new vessel with a grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Clean Vessel Act Program.
"This program also demonstrates the success of partnerships with agencies and municipalities," said Vicari. "Our towns, along with the seaport, are enthusiastic about operating the boats. The state has been very helpful with providing grants to pay for the boats and the Ocean County Utilities Authority works with us in treating the wastewater."
The boats will begin operations Memorial Day Weekend and run through the end of September, with hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays through Mondays, and can be accessed through VHF Channel Radio Channel 9 or through the host agencies.
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