Since 2000, the Health District has administered a Federal Clean Vessel Act grant funded through the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. The grant provides operating funds for the Branford Sewage Pump-Out Boat. This project is a partnership between the Health District, the Town of Branford and the Branford River Project. The boat operates weekends from May through September. The Pump-Out Boat Program serves the waters of Branford, East Haven, Guilford, New Haven and West Haven. The pump-out boats travel to marinas in those communities to serve recreational boaters.

Recently, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), US Fish and Wildlife Service and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, along with the Town of Branford and East Shore District Health Department launched the World’s First Full-Size Solar-Electric Pump-Out Boat. Seventy five percent of the boat’s cost was covered with federal money from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service with DEEP administering that portion of the funding. The money from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service came from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund. The Health District funded the remaining 25 percent of the boat’s cost by hosting a number of fundraisers, as well as receiving donations from organizations such as the Branford and Guilford community funds and from Stony Creek Brewery.

The boat was constructed by Safe Harbor Marinas/Pilot’s Point Marina in Westbrook, creating local green jobs and utilizing state-of-the-art solar/electric technology. The boat is berthed at Safe Harbor Marinas/Bruce and Johnson’s Marina in Branford, and offers free pump-out service to boaters. The new boat is now in service for the 2019 boating season.

The Town of Branford and East Shore District Health Department have contracted with Elm County Property Management to run the operations of the pump-out boat service. They began operations in the 2019 boating season and are highly dedicated to keeping our local waters clean.

Boaters are still able to contact the pump-out boat by calling the service at 203-430-9305, or VHF Channel 9.

Please contact Elisabeth Matuska (ematuska@esdhd.org) with any questions or concerns!

Video on the World's First Full-Size Solar-Electric Pump-Out Boat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8meT9joGh-Q

Article on the New Haven Register: https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Solar-powered-boat-launched-to-k...