Block Island Gets RIDEM Grant For Boat Sewage Pump-Out Facility

NEW SHOREHAM, RI — Efforts to keep the waters of Block Island clean got a boost this month with a grant announcement from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

The Town of New Shoreham will receive a $12,105 matching grant for two new electric pumps and for operation and maintenance of boat sewage pump-out vessels.

"Over the years, projects funded with pump-out grants have been instrumental in helping to reduce a major source of contamination to the state's coastal waters, including the bacteria that can cause shellfish closures," said DEM Director Janet Coit. "We are pleased to award these grants to improve Rhode Island's boat pump-out infrastructure so that activities like boating and shellfishing can grow and thrive."

Boat sewage threatens water quality by introducing bacteria and pathogens that can jeopardize public health. In 1998, Rhode Island became the first state to receive a "no discharge" designation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prohibiting boaters from discharging sewage into local waterways.

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There are currently 15 pump-out boats and 49 landside facilities across Narragansett Bay and other coastal waters. Many now require repair and upgrades. Authorities say all of the facilities are needed. Some 40,000 boats are registered in Rhode Island, and every year the state welcomes many visiting mariners.

In 2020 alone, over 600,000 gallons of sewage were pumped out of boats at such Rhode Island coastal facilities, the DEM says.

On Narragansett Bay, the Town of Bristol and the Quonset Davisville Navy Yacht Club also won grants. The grants totaling $40,000 are funded under the US Fish & Wildlife Service Clean Vessel Act. Since 1994, the DEM has awarded more than $2 million in CVA grants in an effort to keep coastal waters clean.

The grants require a 25-percent match, and funded facilities must be available to all boaters. Grant recipients may not charge more than $5 per 25 gallons pumped.