5. Cape Sante Boat Haven

Recycling Program Means Big Savings for Town Marina

Environmental change

Public education and a free recycling program lead to cleaner water, cost saving, and pleased customers at this large public saltwater marina.

The large public marina

Cap Sante Boat Haven is a publicly owned and operated facility located in the heart of the Town of Anacortes. The marina has 1,150 slips for boats from 17 to 100 feet LOA, with the average vessel at 36 feet. It was 100% occupied in 1995 and is "always full with a waiting list for permanent moorage," wrote Jeanine Keller, a staff member at Cap Sante. "Sailboats occupy 40% of our slips with the remaining 60% powerboats."

The marina operates year-round as both a home port and a major destination harbor. During the boating season there are 18 full-time employees, 8 of whom work year-round. On a typical weekend, during the June through September summer season, there were 100 to 200 transient boats visiting with most staying overnight. A total of 12,000 transient boat nights were logged in 1995. There are no liveaboard boats.

Two pumpouts, four restrooms/showers, and two laundromats are available in the marina. The U.S. Coast Guard has a dock and office in the marina. Another section of the marina provides moorage for up to 150 commercial fishing boats.

Next to the municipal marina is the commercial boatyard, Cap Sante Marine, Ltd., which leases land from the Port of Anacortes. The yard has full boat repairs, hauling, storage, boat sales, engine warranty work, and ship's store available. That's where many of the marina's customers get work done, including bottom cleaning.

Within a 2-mile radius are 4 other marina facilities, all serving almost 3,000 boats in the area. The Boat Haven was started in 1926 as a fishing moorage facility in a light commercial ship building and fishing port. The current marina was ex-panded by 500 slips and upgraded in 1984.

Management measures

Cap Sante marina complies with the marina management measures for solid waste and liquid materials, as well as marina flushing, shoreline stabilization, storm water runoff control, sewage facility, maintenance of sewage facilities, petroleum control, and public education.

Costs/benefits

Cap Sante Boat Haven has a free waste recycling program, which cost the marina $1,200 in 1995, but eliminated $12,000 in waste disposal costs, for a net saving of $10,800.

Environmental improvements

Cap Sante Boat Haven initiated its comprehensive recycling program in 1991. As part of an aggressive community program, the marina collects and recycles cans, glass, paper, waste oil, antifreeze, cardboard, plastic, wood, and flashlight batteries-all free to customers. In the commercial fishing section, recycling also includes fishnet and bulk metals.

"We have seen a cleaner environment with much less litter in the water. With this waste stream diverted to proper disposal, we find this promotes boater compliance with other environmental regulations. Since our facility is open to the public, our neatness pleases customers and the community," said Dale Fowler. "Even though the recycling service is free to customers, it still saves our marina money by cutting down on the amount of trash we pay to have hauled away. Our waste stream cost was approaching $80,000 annually."

"Anacortes has a waste management program townwide and we participate. We rent 28 recycling bins (separate for glass, paper/cardboard, plastics) and place them at each of our 8 dock heads to make them easy to use. To get to the dumpsters, people must walk past the recycle bins; they feel guilty if they don't recycle.

In 1995, "It cost us over $60,000 in trash removal, while we saved $12,000. Each year we easily pull out 10% to 20% for recycling, yielding savings of $6,000 to $15,000 annually. We pay the town $1,200 rent for the bins, so the savings are obvious."

"Many people help us by recycling, but there are a surprising large number who just won't take the time to recycle. They dump everything in the trash-and that is much more costly."

"Our whole Skagit County currently has recycling available. We have to pay to dispose of waste one way or another, so we recycle as much as possible. Another example is getting rid of the commercial boat waste. It cost $8,000 previously, but now less because some of the used commercial fishnet is recycled into landscaping and tennis court nets (for a real net saving!). Recycling is becoming a way of life here."

A unique form of recycling organized by Cap Sante Boat Haven is its materials exchange program, which encourages sharing leftover products like varnish instead of tossing them away. As the marina's newsletter explains.

In the harbormaster's office you can use our materials exchange sheet. Simply list your name, telephone number, and a brief description of the product you have an excess of. You will give a fellow boater the chance to get more life out of a product, rather than disposing of it. All products must have original labels in place.

Other improvements and benefits

"Cap Sante Boat Haven is widely known as the best marina along this part of the coast-for our restrooms, layout, clean water and grounds. People come back because they like it here. We estimate that 25% of our transient customers' good impression of the marina is based on our clean water," said Fowler. "Gross transient income was $150,000, but if we weren't a clean marina our estimated total would be much less."

"All our storm drains are stenciled 'Dump no waste - drains to Bay' with pictures of crabs and fish. This proactive approach pays off in attracting customers. We are 100% full with 4-year waiting lists, so we know clean environment is important."

Municipal Cap Sante Boat Haven, on Washington's Strait of Juan de Fuca (photo by Cap Sante Boat Haven)

Two pumpout stations, one fixed and the other mobile, and two portable toilet dump stations are available free for boater use. "We removed the fee to encourage use of pumpouts. Also, in our rules and regulations we made our marina a no-discharge facility even though the bay is not a federally approved no-discharge area yet. Our 30-gallon mobile 'Honey Wagon' pumpout is on a cart. About half the people who use the mobile unit bring the cart to their boat but, surprisingly, others find it more convenient to take their boat to the cart. In 1995, we collected over 5,000 gallons of sewage, which went directly into the town sewer system for treatment."

"We had the use of a prototype pumpout barge for one year, and it worked so well we will buy one in 1996," explained Fowler. "The barge system offered us the highest flexibility and ease of use for the customer. The barge will be anchored between two piles at the mouth of the harbor to make it convenient and easy to use. A self-serve pumpout and our second dump station will be on it. We applied for a CVA $30,000 pumpout grant through the state, and hope to have the barge in service by June 1996," said Fowler. "It will have a 3,500-gallon capacity and should need emptying twice a year."

The Cap Sante Boat Haven is prepared for oil spills with absorption booms and pads. "Numerous 30-foot to 100-foot sorbent-type 6-inch-diameter booms are strategically anchored cross current to capture any drifting oil. There is very good tidal flushing and we change those floating booms twice a year. As for oil spills, we deployed another boom only two times in 1995," Fowler reported. "We are considering replacing the absorbent spill boom in 1996 by buying 700 feet of containment boom to control spills, then using pads to absorb the fuel. Then we can estimate the amount of spillage by the number of pads used. This will make billing customers for cleanup easier. The new boom will cost about $9.00 per foot and should last 10 years. The absorption pads are cheap-about $0.25 each. We use about 800 pads per year (4 bales of 200 each), at a cost of $50 per bale, or $200 per year."

"We encourage all boats to have oil absorption pads in their bilges," Fowler stated, "and it really helps keep the water cleaner. Most of the oil spilled in the harbor comes out through the bilge. The largest spill we've had was under 12 gallons and came out of a power boat after the transfer pump was left on and overfilled one tank. But the most common spills are very small. We also get spills in the summer from thermal expansion squirting fuel out the air vent."

This marina received a Washington State NPDES storm water permit. However, there is some question whether it is required. The Port of Anacortes is not a commercial business, the marina does not do boat maintenance or cleaning, and the marina does not have a SIC number, nor does the town's population reach the 100,000 threshold above which a storm water permit would be required. "We control runoff from our paved parking lots with vegetated buffers-grassy swales which act as bio-filters. All our storm drains have oil/water separators. Catching the pollutants before they get into the bay has made a big difference improving marina water quality. Each dock head also has signs urging boaters not to throw trash overboard and to use the waste oil collection centers."

The neighboring boatyard tenant has a storm water permit, as is required of commercial boat-servicing businesses. Pressure washing is done there, but the waste water goes through traps and filters at that yard in compliance with Washington's storm water permit regulations.

Harbormaster Dale Fowler is the past president of the Pacific Coast Congress of Harbormasters, where he has actively been promoting clean marina practices. "Marina customers have a very strong sense of ownership in their marina. They like to see a clean marina attitude because this is where they come for recreation. It's like their backyard, and they are quick to point out any mess. By identifying small problems, boaters help us stop them before they become big ones. Keeping a clean marina helps our customers feel good about their marina and us."

"In the Pacific Coast Congress, we spend a lot of time on environmental issues as our consistent theme. Pollution and cleanup impact us [harbormasters] all in financial and legal ways. As a concept, we can make the very best out of environmental improvements by doing things in a proactive manner. Hopefully we can avoid problems, because we strive for a higher level of customer service and quality of life. This is one of those places where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Equipment sources

• Mobile pumpout: Honey Wagon portable pumpout system; Northwest Yacht Brokers Association, 2442 Northwest Market, #321, Seattle, WA 98107.

• Stationary pumpout: Keco, Inc., P.O. Box 80308, San Diego, CA 92138.

• Portable toilet dump station: Keco, Inc.