Free Pumpout Nav App – Your Go-To Guide for Sewage Disposal
Posted
Last Updated
Whether you are exploring new waterways or sailing comfortably in familiar territory, after a day on your vessel, you’ll want to find the most convenient location to dump at the pump before you return home. Now there’s an app for that, available in select regions of California, throughout Oregon and Washington, and in the Lake Champlain area of Vermont, Quebec and New York.
Pumpout Nav is a multi-award winning free mobile app that allows boaters to find the nearest sewage pumpout, dump station, or floating restroom. This app uses the boater’s location information to suggest the nearest pumpout stations on a map or as a list, helping boaters find the amenities they need and supporting marinas to promote their services. The app displays each facility’s operational status, cost, hours and detailed location within the marina. It also provides instructions on how to use a pumpout station and information about the environmental risks and applicable regulations regarding sewage discharge. Boaters can use the app to report for example mechanical issues that they encounter directly to a facility, helping marinas and other waterfront facilities stay on top of repairs.
Recent updates have made this app an even more powerful tool. Now boaters can find dump stations and floating restrooms and can create a personalized account to log and plan pumpout activity, create a list of favorite sewage disposal stations, and choose their boating region. The app also provides contact information for local mobile pumpout companies – in case you’d rather have someone else do the dirty work.
Functional pumpout stations are critical to ensure that boaters unload sewage safely, without impacting the environment and waterways we all love to enjoy. Pumpout Nav plays a key role in giving boaters the information and empowerment they need to make green, eco-friendly choices and avoid the release of raw sewage in open waters that can create environmental and human health problems.
The app was originally released in 2017 and is one component of California’s Clean Vessel Act (CVA) Education and Outreach Program. With Pumpout Nav, boaters are no longer confronted with the challenge of arriving at an out-of-service sewage disposal facility. Other states currently serviced by the app include Oregon, Washington, and the Lake Champlain area of Vermont, Quebec and New York.
Pumpout Nav was designed by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership in collaboration with Southern California partner The Bay Foundation. Funding for the app was provided by a Clean Vessel Act grant and administered by the California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways through the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund. Download in your device’s iOS or Android app store, and find more information here.