Citizen Portal
Sign In

Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows

Get Lifetime Access

Martin County celebrates 25 years of boat pump-out program; program reports 60,000 pump-outs

Martin County Board of County Commissioners · March 24, 2026

Loading...

AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Utilities staff marked the 25th anniversary of the Martin boat pump-out program (MSPOOP), reporting more than 60,000 pump-outs and about 2.5 million gallons of sewage removed from county waterways; the program operates two boats and is partly funded by the Clean Vessel Act and US Fish & Wildlife Service.

Utilities and Solid Waste staff celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Martin County pump-out program (MSPOOP). Project manager Daryl Schuler described the program's growth from one part-time boat in 2000 to two full-time boats operating five days a week. Staff said the program has completed over 60,000 pump-outs and collected roughly 2.5 million gallons of untreated sewage that otherwise could have entered the Indian River Lagoon and other waterways.

The program is supported in part by federal grants (Clean Vessel Act via the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and US Fish & Wildlife Service) that cover a portion of operations and maintenance. Schuler said boat owners request service via a longstanding county phone number and that operators log every pump-out for grant reporting.

Commissioners praised the program's environmental benefits and county staff tenure; Utilities Director Sam Amerson acknowledged Schuler's 30-year county service.