A grass roots approach to sustainable
Galveston Bay marinas
Welcome
Thank you for visiting our start up website. We are only beginning and there more to come. This informational website was built by Galveston Bay mariners for those who care about bay water quality and our marina environment. Green Marinas was founded in 2009 as a non profit corporation to specifically address boater nonpoint source pollution. We are starting at home on Galveston Bay, Texas with the goal of transferring what we learn, to the rest of the Texas coast and beyond.
There are good reasons to be concerned for the health of the Galveston Bay estuary. We hear about them all the time in oyster bed closures, dioxin poisoning, seafood consumption advisories, contact recreation related infections etc. The great irony in that we come to our boats to get away and relax, while our maintenance practices and boating habits often damage the very environment from which we seek refuge. Old polluting behaviors can and should be replaced with environmentally sound methods and materials. Marina based boater sewage discharge has to stop, We need marina recycling for aluminum glass, paper and plastic. In short, it's time for change and by working together, we can change.
Kermit the Frog said "It isn't easy being green." That's true; but we'll get there through working together.
A look at the facts
- · There are insufficient waste pump-out facilities for boaters
- · Enforcement of boater sewage discharge law is negligible and ineffective. Many vessels still illegally discharge sewage overboard threatening public and environmental health.
- · Most commercial vessel marinas have no pump-out facilities
- · There is no solid waste recycling at any marina
- · There is no periodic household hazardous waste collection in any marina
- · Few marinas have facilities for contaminated fuel collection or oil recycling
- · There is nowhere to safely deposit oily bilge water
- · Few marina workers or boaters know what a BMP (Best Management Practice) is, let alone why they are important
Green Marinas Mission
The mission of Green Marinas is to protect and enhance water quality of the Galveston Bay estuary through specifically addressing boater and marina nonpoint source pollution. To fulfill this mission, we target three specific goals.
Mariner Education and Engagement ─ Educate and engage local marina managers, boaters and the boating community to increase awareness of boater nonpoint source pollution and practices that minimize or eliminate it.
Marina Environmental Infrastructure Advocacy ─ Encourage solutions for boater nonpoint source pollution through advocating new infrastructure to improve boater sewage pump-out capacity, construct adequate shore-based restroom and shower facilities, and develop infrastructure for waste recycling.
Boater Waste Management ─ Develop a Clear Lake marina solid waste recycling program. Establish a bay wide periodic household hazardous waste collection program and a Clear Lake based recycling station for oily bilge water. Publicize regional drop off locations so boaters know how dispose of contaminated fuel products, oil and used antifreeze.