Other News
Apr 11, 2024: Community Meeting: Sea Level Rise Adaptation for Outer Bay and Agate Beach Areas on Lopez Island
Mar 11, 2024: Queers in Unexpected Places: Searching for (and Finding) Gender and Sexual Non-Conformity in the Rural and Early PNW
Mar 7, 2024: DRAFT Richardson Marsh Preserve Stewardship and Management Plan Now Open for Public Comment
Dec 5, 2023: County Council Member Jane Fuller and Senator Liz Lovelett to Host Public Meeting on Lopez
Nov 3, 2023: County and Town Send Open Letter to State Officials Regarding Impacts of Poor Ferry Service
Sep 29, 2023: Conservation Land Bank Announces Special Meeting to Discuss Watmough Bay Preserve Addition
Sep 14, 2023: The mobile dental van is coming to Lopez! // ¡La camioneta dental móvil ya llega a López!
Aug 22, 2023: San Juan County Adopts 32-Hour Work Week in the Name of Fiscal Health, Recruitment, and Islander Wellness
May 25, 2023: Recap of Lopez Neighborhood Meeting Regarding the Relocation of Public Works Facilities
May 23, 2023: District 3 Councilmember Jane Fuller Opens Office on Lopez and Hosts Community Conversation
Apr 17, 2023: Give Lopez Starts April 17th - A two week fundraiser benefiting 15 Lopez Island Non-Profits
Sep 22, 2022: Interim Watmough Preserve Addition Stewardship and Management Plan Now Open for Public Comment
Port of Lopez launches a new free pumpout boat in Fisherman Bay
Sep 18, 2022
By Washington State Parks
Port of Lopez now operating seasonal mobile pumpout service.
A new sewage pumpout boat is providing free service to recreational boaters in the San Juan Islands. The Port of Lopez received a grant in 2021 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to build an electric powered pumpout vessel. A separate grant from the Washington State Parks Clean Vessel Act Grant Program is supporting the operations and maintenance of the vessel, along with financial backing from the Port.
Named "Blackwater," the vessel has already provided several pumpouts despite only being in service since mid-August.
"We're thrilled to assist the Port in establishing this new service and hope to see others like it in the region," said Catherine Buchalski Smith, Clean Vessel Act Grant Program manager. “The Port of Lopez looks forward to providing a service that will help to protect the surrounding waters of Lopez Island and the Salish Sea. We are very grateful to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Washington Clean Vessel Act Grant Program for making it possible to purchase and operate this vessel."
Pumpout services are free to recreational vessels, but boaters must call to make an appointment ahead of time. Boaters can request a pumpout appointment by email (pumpout@portoflopez.com), phone at (360) 504-7982, or by hailing VHF channel 78.
In addition to funding the construction and ongoing operation of pumpout and dump stations across the state, the Clean Vessel Act Grant Program funds Pumpout Washington - a boater education initiative managed by Washington Sea Grant. Introducing new boaters on how and where to pumpout their boat’s holding tank is the key to maintaining local water quality.
Washington Sea Grant provides educational outreach to boaters on marina docks during summer months and provides boaters with a variety of helpful tools, such as the free pumpout adapter and a new video on the Pumpout Washington website demonstrating how to use the more than 140 free public pumpout facilities in the state. A free mobile phone app, PumpoutNav, is another popular tool helping boaters locate the nearest pumpout or dump station, from Washington to California.
About the Washington State Clean Vessel Act
Grant Program The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission administers the state’s Clean Vessel Act (CVA) Grant Program, which provides funding for the construction, renovation, operation and maintenance of sewage disposal systems serving recreational boaters and educational programs that inform boaters about the importance of proper sewage disposal. Funding comes from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund through a nationally competitive process administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
For more information about the CVA program, contact Catherine Buchalski Smith, (360) 902-8659 or Catherine.BuchalskiSmith@parks.wa.gov
About Washington Sea Grant
Washington Sea Grant is based within the College of the Environment at the University of Washington and helps people and marine life thrive through research, technical expertise and education supporting the responsible use and conservation of coastal ecosystems. The National Sea Grant College Program is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
-----------------------------
For a pumpout call 360-504-7982 or email pumpout@portoflopez.com
When the boat is operating call "Blackwater" on channel 78.
Named "Blackwater," the vessel has already provided several pumpouts despite only being in service since mid-August.
"We're thrilled to assist the Port in establishing this new service and hope to see others like it in the region," said Catherine Buchalski Smith, Clean Vessel Act Grant Program manager. “The Port of Lopez looks forward to providing a service that will help to protect the surrounding waters of Lopez Island and the Salish Sea. We are very grateful to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Washington Clean Vessel Act Grant Program for making it possible to purchase and operate this vessel."
Pumpout services are free to recreational vessels, but boaters must call to make an appointment ahead of time. Boaters can request a pumpout appointment by email (pumpout@portoflopez.com), phone at (360) 504-7982, or by hailing VHF channel 78.
In addition to funding the construction and ongoing operation of pumpout and dump stations across the state, the Clean Vessel Act Grant Program funds Pumpout Washington - a boater education initiative managed by Washington Sea Grant. Introducing new boaters on how and where to pumpout their boat’s holding tank is the key to maintaining local water quality.
Washington Sea Grant provides educational outreach to boaters on marina docks during summer months and provides boaters with a variety of helpful tools, such as the free pumpout adapter and a new video on the Pumpout Washington website demonstrating how to use the more than 140 free public pumpout facilities in the state. A free mobile phone app, PumpoutNav, is another popular tool helping boaters locate the nearest pumpout or dump station, from Washington to California.
About the Washington State Clean Vessel Act
Grant Program The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission administers the state’s Clean Vessel Act (CVA) Grant Program, which provides funding for the construction, renovation, operation and maintenance of sewage disposal systems serving recreational boaters and educational programs that inform boaters about the importance of proper sewage disposal. Funding comes from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund through a nationally competitive process administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
For more information about the CVA program, contact Catherine Buchalski Smith, (360) 902-8659 or Catherine.BuchalskiSmith@parks.wa.gov
About Washington Sea Grant
Washington Sea Grant is based within the College of the Environment at the University of Washington and helps people and marine life thrive through research, technical expertise and education supporting the responsible use and conservation of coastal ecosystems. The National Sea Grant College Program is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
-----------------------------
For a pumpout call 360-504-7982 or email pumpout@portoflopez.com
When the boat is operating call "Blackwater" on channel 78.