The EPA recommends that unless you can treat your wastewater on board, you should contain it on your vessel until it can be disposed of properly on land. Disposing of sewage at sea should be seen as a last resort, rather than the only option.
Pump-out Facility
Wherever possible, use marinas that provide wastewater pump-out stations and other services to help you protect the environment. In the Derwent Estuary, use the Kings Pier facility. See TasPorts for information on the location and use of the Kings Pier pump-out facility.
Diposing of sewage from your boat
If you must dispose of sewage in a waterway or at sea, you can legally do so if you follow the rules for Small boats (<16 people) and Large boats (16 or more people). Note – this information is current until 1 November 2018.
Small boats (<16 people)
Small boats are allowed to:
1. Discharge urine into any waterway if it isn't mixed with faeces.
2. Discharge any sewage into seawater if:
- There aren't any visible floating solids
- It doesn't cause any prolonged discolouration of the water
And the boat is:
- in water deeper than 5m
- more than 500m from any public wharf, jetty or shellfish farm
- more than 500m from any beach, and more than 120m from any other shore
- more than 120m from any person in the water
- more than 50m from another boat
- outside any marina, designated mooring area or canal
- outside any of the areas marked on these accompanying
Boat Sewage Discharge maps
Large boats (16 or more people)
See Part 4 of the
Sewage Management Directive and refer to the accompanying
Boat Sewage Discharge maps
For more information
For more information, visit
Sewage Management Directive and for
more detailed information on boat sewage management, see here.
