Look for this sign to help you
locate approved pumpout facilities
at marinas in your area.
It is illegal to discharge untreated sewage from vessels within all navigable waters of South Carolina. In addition, state law prohibits its houseboats from discharging all sewage, treated or untreated, into freshwaters of our state. House boats must be equipped with a holding tank.
You are not required to have an installed toilet on your boat. In fact many people choose a portable toilet. Waste from portable toilets, like holding tanks, must be disposed of in a proper manner. Disposal of sewage from holding tanks can be accomplished at pumpout stations all along the coast of South Carolina.
You may not know it, but you are already helping to promote proper sewage discharge. Every time you purchase motorboat fuel and fishing equipment, part of the money is contributed to a fund set aside by the Sportfish Restoration Act and the United States Clean Vessel Act. This fund provides states, including South Carolina, support for the construction, renovation, operation, and maintenance of pump-out stations and waste reception facilities for boaters.
Pumpout stations and dump stations provide an efficient and sanitary method of waste disposal. A standardized sign has been designed to help boaters recognize which South Carolina marinas are equipped with a pumpout station. Currently, a number of coastal states are using similar signs along the Intra coastal Waterway.