Avail thyself, dear mariner, of the pumpout vessels that ply the East End harbors. The people who helm them are the unsung heroes of the waterways, ridding potentially thousands of gallons of wastewater from boats from the region’s most precious resource.
Pumpout boats are the marine equivalent of the ubiquitous honey wagons that ply the roads. In the Peconic Estuary, there are more than a dozen sites and boats where boaters can offload their septic waste. Many monitor VHF channel 73, on which the necessary arrangements can be made. In Three Mile Harbor and Lake Montauk, the free service can be requested 24 hours a day.
Literally, keeping the crap out of the harbors is an important way each of us who takes to the water can help. And thank you to the steel-nosed women and men who take on this noxious, but critical, duty.