"Decontamination" of Ballast Tanks

[WeylanBryant]

Colorado and Utah are "cracking down" and requiring us to "decontaminate" the ballast tanks (X-15 w/3) if the boat's been in "contaminated" (with zebra muscles, e.g. Lake Pueblo) waters. SO FAR, the Park Rangers MUST complete this task (at, again SO FAR, no charge) - they will NOT accept "off premises" decontamination. Reference: http://parks.state.co.us/Zebra+Mussels.htm

My X-15 has THREE tanks (rear port, rear starbord, and center) with TWO input ports on the hull. I can't find ANY diagrams on which port feeds which tank. It APPEARS that the port intake feeds both of the stern tanks and the starbord intake feeds the middle tank; however, I want to make SURE so I don't burn out the pumps. Can I test "pump on" out of water without damaging the pumps? Obviously it would only take a second or two of pump run time (put my hand over the intake to feel the suction). Thoughts...

Thanks for the help!!

[JimN]

Originally Posted by WeylanBryant

Colorado and Utah are "cracking down" and requiring us to "decontaminate" the ballast tanks (X-15 w/3) if the boat's been in "contaminated" (with zebra muscles, e.g. Lake Pueblo) waters. SO FAR, the Park Rangers MUST complete this task (at, again SO FAR, no charge) - they will NOT accept "off premises" decontamination. Reference: http://parks.state.co.us/Zebra+Mussels.htm

My X-15 has THREE tanks (rear port, rear starbord, and center) with TWO input ports on the hull. I can't find ANY diagrams on which port feeds which tank. It APPEARS that the port intake feeds both of the stern tanks and the starbord intake feeds the middle tank; however, I want to make SURE so I don't burn out the pumps. Can I test "pump on" out of water without damaging the pumps? Obviously it would only take a second or two of pump run time (put my hand over the intake to feel the suction). Thoughts...

Thanks for the help!!

It's good that they're doing this, but it is a big inconvenience to those who are good about it anyway. The problems are from people who never bother and the Zebra Mussels have traveled a good distance in a short time. They're great if you want clear water but they clog water inlets for power plants, cling to anything they can get a hold onto and breed pretty fast, which makes it hard to know exactly who transferred them. They should have an off-site place where this can happen, so anything that was there before and became dislodged can be eliminated. Lazy people are the problem and it affects everyone. Eurasian Milfoil is another big problem.

[KHall]

Invasive species are a problem in many waterways. Its inevitable that small boat ballast will be controlled in some fashion. My boat at times has 6 ballast tank/sacs, so it would be a pain. If they were to completely flood the ballast then your talking about 200 gallons, wow! Maybe i need to just stay home.

[WeylanBryant]

Hi, KHall... As I understand it, if you have sacs, they do NOT need to be decontaminated. The only reason they are requiring decontamination of the "hard" tanks is that they do NOT typically empty COMPLETELY. CO has a cut off that will allow FIVE (5) gallons of water from one lake to another, or TWO (2) gallons PER TANK. With THREE tanks, like I have, that would equate to SIX gallons, which "forces" me to decontaminate. It's NOT that big a deal, only takes about an hour (they DO fill the tanks all the way to overflow), MAX, as long as everyone knows what they're doing (not ALWAYS the case), and they "tag" the boat. As long as you stay in the SAME LAKE, you do not need to decon the tanks each time. If you go to another lake, all "bets" are off and you need to re-decon. I just want to make sure, from a "boat plumbing standpoint" that I'm using the correct ports for the correct tanks so I don't damage the system. I THINK I've got it correct, as detailed in my message, but am NOT 100% sure. Don't stay home - ENJOY THE BOAT/WATER!!!