In Ontario and in several other western lakes porta pottis are not allowed. Now the boat qualifies if it has no toilet or if it has a fixed toilet with pump out fitting on deck. So you quailfy if you leave the pp at home. You qualify if you plumb it in. What happens if you do nothing or if you break it apart and store it? Depends on the circumstances and personalities involved. Some inspectors seem to ignore this. Some are diverted if you show evidence of proper disposal (see article below). Some could be having a bad day and you could have the pp confiscated and pay a fine. Most would not do this to such a cute boat flying the Maple Leaf as a courtesy.
And despite what DoD says you can drink Lake Superior water. I think he is just jealous because his boating waters are so warm.
http://www.tc.gc.ca/BoatingSafety/facts/foreign.htm
Quoting from this site:
* "Portable toilets are illegal on Ontario waters. The owner of a pleasure craft shall ensure that each toilet and the holding tank(s) is/are installed so that;
* The toilet and equipment are connected in such a manner that the equipment receives all toilet waste from the toilet.
* Equipment designed for the storage of human excrement is provided with a deck fitting and such connecting piping as is necessary for the removal of toilet waste by shore-based pumping equipment.
* No means of removal of toilet waste is provided other than the means mentioned above.
* All parts of the system for removal of toilet waste are congruent with one another and the boat."
A crusing magazine suggests:
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For trailer sailors, we advise setting up:
1. A means of securing the portipotti firmly within the vessel (Mine is screwed in place with brackets supplied by the manufacturer … Thetford in my case)
2. A deck-mounted pump-out. This is via a pump-out fitting that screws onto the portipotti in place of the main top cap.
3. A vent line through the hull just below the rub-rail. This also attaches to the fitting that replaces the top cap.
Having said this, we have not heard of this issue being a problem with previous visitors from south of the border. Some prior cruisers have paid to dump their portipotti at a marina waste disposal, and kept the receipt as evidence of their environmental responsibility.
We all want to keep the water clean.
It's where we will be swimming tomorrow, right?
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And From Power Boating Canada Magazine
The most controversial of the regulations governing pleasure craft in Canada is, of course, the ban on Porta-Potti types of marine toilets that are designed to be emptied into toilets on shore. This portable unit consists of two parts. One is a holding tank that seals off and can readily be transported without danger of spillage. It is specifically designed for recreational use in campers, motorhomes and cruisers. It was used extensively in all three until the government decided to ban them from all boats in Canada.
The reason given was they didn't trust boaters not to empty them overboard when nobody was looking. This decision, which certainly seems remarkably selective, has cost skippers thousands of dollars.
Why any boater in his right mind would dump raw sewage into the lake that he is cruising on, swimming in and fishing in is quite beyond understanding. But you had better abide by it or pay a fine. So here is an excerpt from the Canadian Coast Guard's "Safe Boating Guide."
The following is a list of areas in which boats are required to have holding tanks and cannot pump sewage overboard: all waters in Ontario; in Manitoba, the Assiniboine River in the city of Winnipeg, the Red River and Shoal Lake; in B.C., Shuswap, Mara and Okanagan lakes. (Top)
For other boating waters in Canada the regulations are unclear. Even the Coast Guard guide mentions that a number of additional waterways are being considered for restrictions. The rest of Canada, presumably, requires at least a macerator/chlorinator but this is not spelled out in the guide.
Skippers of small pleasure craft in Canada have every right to be indignant when they cruise by a pipe spewing filth from a local industry or waterway. Or if they see a weir or a dam on one of their canals frothing at the mouth from detergent being dumped into the stream.
It has been estimated that one percent of the total pollution in our waterways comes from pleasure craft, with 10 percent from cottagers who line the banks. The rest, and by far the largest amount, comes from industries and farms. But these last major polluters are virtually above the law, far too strong politically to expect to be charged unless in extreme cases, such as when people died in Grassy Narrows in Ontario from by-products of local paper mills. If you want to know more about that, just drop me a line. (Editor's note: The author won the Canadian Kortright Magazine Writing Award for his series on water pollution in Canada.)
It appears that boaters in Ontario, and also those boating on selected waters in the rest of Canada, must accept a special role in the fight against water pollution despite that they represent a very small part of the problem, but must play the government game. The fact that we regard our lakes and rivers as a recreational resource rather than a sewer means that we must lead the fight for cleaner waterways.
So what of the multitude of boats that are too small, or simply unsuitable, for the installation of a holding tank system? Skippers should do a little research before a cruise to locate public toilets in the area and guests should be warned to "go" before they leave the dock.
And, of course, what you do when swimming from the boat is strictly between you and the fishes.
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Hope they get rid of this nonsensical restriction.
Regards,
