State Parks Clean Vessel Act Grant Program Funds $320,000 for Pumpout Projects Statewide

OLYMPIA — Recreational boaters in Washington waters will have an easier time disposing of vessel sewage thanks to over $320,000 in new federal pass-through grants for recreational boat pumpout projects.

Awarded by the Washington State Parks Clean Vessel Act Grant Program (CVA), the grants focus on constructing or maintaining sewage disposal systems for recreational vessels, and supporting outreach programs that inform boaters about the location of these facilities.

Projects funded in the 2025 grant competition include:

• Port of Port Townsend – $125,329 for three new mobile pumpout carts and operation and maintenance of a pumpout vessel, and three existing stationary pumps
• Manson Parks & Recreation District – $9,900 for operations and maintenance at Old Mill Park and Manson Bay Marina
• Recreational Boating Association of Washington - $27,003 for the West Sound Kitsap Peninsula Mobile Pump Out Program
• Zittles Marina - $8,570 for operations and maintenance for two pumpout carts
• Carillon Properties - $37,500 to replace stationary pumpout at Yarrow Bay
• Point Roberts Marina - $73,432 to replace pumpout vessel engines and two stationary pumpouts
• Port of Anacortes - $38,456 to replace two pumpout carts and one stationary pumpout

Grant recipients must provide a 25 percent match. However, a lack of matching funds isn’t a barrier for these important development projects. In 2024 and again in 2025, Washington State Appropriation funds were awarded to Parks “to assist facilities that might otherwise experience hardship paying the federal matching requirements.” These funds will cover the $106,700 match for new development grants.

In addition to funding new or replacement pumpout projects, the CVA Grant Program also funds the annual operation and maintenance of more than 100 pumpout and dump station facilitlies across the state. Last year, over $844,000 in grant funds went towards annual operation and maintenance expenses of these facilities.

Adequate and functional pumpout facilities are critical infrastructure for recreational boaters to comply with the Puget Sound No Discharge Zone Law, which has been in effect since 2018.

Boaters can locate pumpout and dump stations across the state using maps available on PumpoutWashington.org, or by downloading the free Pumpout Nav app on the Apple Store or Google Play.

Funding Cleaner Waters

In 2024, grant funds were awarded to purchase a new mobile pumpout vessel, a service that brings the pumpout to the boater in need. The project represents a partnership between the Recreational Boating Association of Washington, the Port of Poulsbo and the cities of Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island.

Pumpout services are available to boaters free of charge, in the Liberty Bay, Eagle Harbor, Fort Ward, Illahee State Park and Blake Island State Park areas during weekends and holidays throughout the boating season.

Mobile pumpout vessels like the one in Poulsbo—recently named “Poo-get Sound” in a local naming contest—have proven very successful. So far this season, the vessel has been busy, and the West Sound region is days away from hitting their annual goal of 15,000 gallons pumped. The mobile pumpout vessel makes it easier for boaters to do the right thing; they can request pumpout services by phone, VHF radio, or simply by flagging it down.

The Clean Vessel Act Grant Program is proud to fund this and hundreds of other pumpouts across the state, which keep sewage out of our precious waterways and keep boating a sustainable pastime for recreators.

About the Washington State Clean Vessel Act Grant Program

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission administers the state’s Clean Vessel Act (CVA) Grant Program, which provides funding for the construction, renovation, operation and maintenance of sewage disposal systems serving recreational boaters and educational programs that inform boaters about the importance of proper sewage disposal. Federal grant funding is awarded to the Washington CVA Grant Program by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  through a nationally competitive process for all 50 states and U.S. territories. The Washington State Parks Clean Vessel Act Grant Program also provides funding for Pumpout Washington, a public outreach program managed by Washington Sea Grant. For more information about the CVA program, contact Lydia Moorehead, (360) 902-8659 or lydia.moorehead@parks.wa.gov.