RI DEM awards grants for boat pump-out facilities

PROVIDNECE, R.I. (WLNE)- The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) awarded $40,000 in grants for the maintenance of boat pump-out facilities.

The towns of Bristol and New Shoreham, as well as the Quonset Davisville Navy Yacht Club, each received a portion of the $40,000 to put toward the construction, repair, and upgrade of pump-out facilities.

“Over the years, projects funded with pump-out grants have been instrumental in helping to reduce a major source of contamination to the state’s coastal waters, including the bacteria that can cause shellfish closures,” said DEM Director Janet Coit.

“We are pleased to award these grants to improve Rhode Island’s boat pump-out infrastructure so that activities like boating and shell fishing can grow and thrive.”

These facilities pump sewage out of boats to prevent it from polluting the water. There are currently 15 pump-out boats and 49 landslide facilities across Narragansett Bay and the state’s coastal waters.