Avalon Stiffens Ban on Harbor Sewage

The Avalon City Council has passed an emergency ordinance amending a law intending to ban boat owners from discharging human waste from their boats into Avalon Harbor.

The amendment, passed this week 4 to 0, strengthens an ordinance passed by the council in August, 1988.

The amendment broadly prohibits any discharge into the harbor, rather than specifically prohibiting discharge containing human waste. In addition, boaters who dock in Avalon Harbor are required to have dye pellets inserted in sinks or toilets by inspectors from the city’s Harbor Department. The pellets leave green stains in the water, allowing health officials to detect the source of discharged sewage.

Violators are fined $500 and banned from the harbor for one year. Thirty-eight boaters have been cited under the law, said harbor administrative officer Mary Salisbury.