Boaters urged to use pump-out stations

The summer boating season is here and Brookhaven supervisor Ed Romaine is spearheading a townwide campaign reminding boaters to properly dispose of boat sewage at town marina pumping stations, pump boats and barges. Brookhaven is a federally designated No Discharge Zone and the overboard discharge of boat sewage is prohibited in all the town's waterways. In summer 2018, the town serviced nearly 8,000 boats, pumping approximately 200,000 gallons of sewage. Pictured alongside one of the town’s new pump-out boats at Port Jefferson Marina are supervisor Romaine (left) and Brookhaven Town harbormaster Karl Guyer (right).

To accommodate the high number of seasonal boaters, the town has pump-out stations at Port Jefferson Marina, Mount Sinai Marina, Forge River Marina in Mastic and Blue Point Marina. The town also deploys four pump-out boats, two on the north shore at Port Jefferson Marina and Mount Sinai Marina and two on the south shore covering east and west, including Fire Island from Great Gun to Ocean Bay. Additionally, the town operates two pump-out barges, at Port Jefferson Marina and Sandspit Marina in Patchogue. Use of the pump-out stations and boats is free of charge. The pump-out boats and barges are available two weeks before Memorial Day until Columbus Day. Days and hours of operation are Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weather permitting. Pump-out stations are operational at Forge River Marina in Mastic: 24 hours per day, seven days a week; at Blue Point Marina: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week.