Clean Vessel Act Grant Program

Boats docked at Discovery Bay Yacht Harbor in Contra Costa County within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. (Photo by California Department of Water Resources)

California offers boaters endless opportunities to enjoy the outdoors and has an estimated 4 million recreational boaters, boasting one of the highest rates in the United States.

Boaters can affect the quality of the waterways they enjoy, in some cases creating environmental and human health problems when discharging sewage overboard. That’s why boaters are encouraged to use sewage management facilities, including pumpout stations, dump stations, and mobile pumpout services.

Congress passed the Clean Vessel Act (CVA) more than 30 years ago to help reduce pollution from vessel sewage discharges into U.S. waters. This grant program is a key educational opportunity demonstrating how we can all work to keep California’s waterways clean.

Our Program

To aid in the effort of environmental stewardship among boaters, we launched our Clean Vessel Act Program in 2025. This initiative focuses on educating recreational boaters about proper vessel sewage disposal, the importance of using pumpout facilities, and monitoring pumpout and dump stations across Northern California to ensure their accessibility and functionality.

Funding for this project is provided by a CVA grant, administered by California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways and funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund.

Counties included in our CVA program:

Alameda
Contra Costa
Marin
Monterey
Napa
Sacramento
San Francisco
San Joaquin
San Mateo
Santa Clara
Santa Cruz
Solano
Sonoma

Aerial view looking west at Willow Berm, Riverboat, and Korth’s Pirates Lair Marinas located along the Mokelumne River on Brannan-Andrus Island, part of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

We are committed to supporting clean, safe, and enjoyable recreational boating experiences in the Delta and beyond. We encourage all boaters to join us in this effort by using available sewage management facilities and following best practices for sewage disposal. Check out the resources below for more information!

Resources

Pumpout Nav App

Find the nearest boat sewage disposal facility near you by using the free Pumpout Nav app. It’s available for both iOS and Android devices and shows you where the closest sewage pumpout, dump station, and floating restrooms are located at participating marinas and harbors across California and other coastal locations in the U.S. In addition, the app empowers you the boater to report if there is a problem with the pumpout! It also includes great educational resources, including videos, environmental laws, and much more.

Download for Android

Download for iOS

Funding Opportunities

California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways has additional grant funding to help keep California’s waterways clean: