Solano County, CA (August 29,2004) – This coming Labor Day weekend wraps up a successful 2024 boater outreach season at Lake Berryessa. Since May, Solano Resource Conservation District’s team of interns has spent each weekend at the lake, meeting with and talking to boaters and other lake visitors. They have shared clean water protection strategies with 1,500 boaters and provided 700 California Boater kits, that includes three oil absorbents, coupons and other tools to help manage the engine effluent from small vessels.
This season represents the 19th year of the program and interns have interacted with more than 75,000 boaters about the importance of keeping Lake Berryessa clean from oil, fuel, sewage, and marine debris, and specifically about the things they can do to support that effort. Environmental outreach interns raise awareness about the importance of clean boating practices and offer tools to make those practices easy. Interns ask boaters to take a brief educational survey to learn more about water protection and resources available to them.
Interns encourage visitors piloting inboard motor boats to take a minute to install an oil absorbent into the bilge of the boats, and provide information about disposing of used absorbents and acquiring a replacement each year. These oil absorbents absorb oil and repel water. They can be returned for oil recycling curbside in some cities, at a local Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facility, or at an oil absorbent exchange station located at Lake Berryessa or Sandy Beach Park in Rio Vista.
“Just one gallon of motor oil leaked from a boat’s engine will contaminate one million gallons of drinking water for 500,000 Solano County residents,” explained Robyn Slater, an assistant manager who supports the program. “Our program meets boaters at the lake and shares the information and tools they need to help keep Solano County’s drinking water clean and safe.”
The California Division of Boating and Waterways reports that around 4 million motorized and non-motorized boats take part in boating activities on state lakes and rivers. So many boats in use mean that even a small amount of gas, oil, or sewage pollution from only a fraction of boats has the power to cause serious damage to the water resources and ecosystems we rely on. Boaters who practice clean boating practices help safeguard those resources.
The Solano RCD Boater Outreach Program is a partnership between many local and state partners, including Solano County Water Agency, Napa County, Solano County, the cities of Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville, and Vallejo, California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways, California Coastal Commission, and the CalRecycle Used Oil Payment Program.
The 2024 season is ending, but the need to protect and care for our water sources is ongoing. Look for our interns at the lake Labor Day weekend for a last chance this season to get a boater kit and talk to them about protecting lake Berryessa for boaters, recreators and the Solano County’s drinking water now and for the future. You can find year-round information about clean boating, including videos and more information on used oil recycling at solanorcd.org/boaters.
