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Marina Runs Tight Ship

Carter Strauch doesn't believe in "fuzzy feel-good" environmentalism. He doesn't want to have to "read through five pages of fluff to get to the meat." This South Beach Marina harbor master makes his efforts to educate his tenants about their potential contribution to Bay pollution short and to the point. He likes to share the S.F. Estuary Project statistic, for example, that one weekend boater flushing untreated sewage into the Bay produces the same amount of bacterial pollution as the treated sewage from 10,000 people.

Strauch and assistant harbor master Peter Moorehead began a boater education program in 1994 using reference materials from the Estuary Project, the Marin County Waste Agency and other agencies. They disseminated this information to their tenants through a harbor bulletin board and monthly mailings. "Peter and Carter are very proactive," says the Estuary Project's Joan Patton. "Less than half of the Bay's marinas have sewage pumpouts, and often when they do, they're not maintained. At South Beach, they have two pumpouts, and if one is broken, it's fixed within 15 minutes."

In addition to offering the two free 24-hour pumpout stations, the marina will recycle tenants' old batteries and waste oil, collect old gasoline, solvents, and paints, and even take oily bilge water for treatment. Strauch says that while probably 70-80% of their tenants are grateful for the services, a few undoubtedly resent the stringent policies at South Beach. Some have left behind hazardous wastes, for example, that the two harbor masters had to clean up. But Strauch and Moorehead see the extra work as just another cost of doing business. "It's a way to market ourselves," says Moorehead. "We think people choose South Beach not only for its aesthetics, but for the services we offer. We think people want to see that kind of environmental sense."

Carter says most boaters now religiously use the South Beach pumpouts (instead of discharging their sewage into the Bay). "They wait patiently in line, maneuver in strong crosswinds-do whatever it takes," says Strauch. Strauch also sees himself as being in a unique position in which he can "reach ears that might otherwise not hear. It's quite different to hear this environmental message coming from a person who's a sailor himself, who's saying these things with vigor - making policy. I tell tenants from the start they have to take care of the environment to be a South Beach tenant. And if push comes to shove, I just say 'do it.'"

Contact: South Beach Marina (415) 495-4911

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