Emissions Studies

• Marine Carburetor Engine Emissions (2000) Marine Engine Emissions - New Technology Emission Standards for New Gasoline Marine Engines (1996) United States Environmental Protection Agency
  
  EPA’s description of new emissions standards for marine carbureted engines.
  
  
• MTBE A Multimedia Issue: Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) (2000) Rachel Sakata
  
  
• U.S. EPA Office of Ground & Drinking Water Regulatory Advisory: Federal Government Announces Ban on MTBE (2000) Association of California Water Agencies
  
  
• Keuka Lake Water Quality Testing Program (2000) Peter Landre and Amy Barkley, Keuka Lake Association, Hammondsport, NY
  
  A study of motorboat fuels levels was initiated because of potential water quality concerns from proposed personal watercraft events scheduled for Keuka Lake. The results showed that “Even in the most crowded boating areas during the holiday weekends, non-detectable levels of hydrocarbons were found.”
  
  
• Water Test: Donner Lake, California (1999) Deloro Water Co./Donner Lake Division
  
  Reacting to Lake Tahoe's recent two-cycle restrictions, the Town of Truckee in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, only a few minutes from Tahoe, decided to propose a PWC ban on nearby Donner Lake. The proposal stemmed from a fear that with Tahoe "closed" to PWC, boaters who couldn't get onto Tahoe would soon overrun Donner Lake. In order to adopt the rule, they approved water testing to show that two-cycle engines were harming the lake.
  
  T he tests were conducted on July 6th, after the July 4th weekend, traditionally the busiest boating weekend of the year. As with the results of the Anaheim PWC race, the test showed no trace of fuel components.
  
  
• Water Test: Canandaigua Lake, New York (1999) City of Canandaigua
  
  Canandaigua Lake, one of the popular Finger Lakes in upstate New York, was the site of the second annual Toyota/Sea-Doo Challenge PWC race. The race lasted two days, with more than 100 participants.
  
  Water testing was conducted prior to, during, and after the race by the City of Canandaigua. While the results showed an increase in fuel components in the water during the race, testing only three days later at the identical sites showed a "dramatic decline" in the components. The study showed that the fuel quickly left the water, just as the EPA's research had. The tests at Canandaigua further bolstered what the EPA already knew: that two-cycle engines did not have a significant impact on water quality.
  
  
• Water Test: Anaheim, California (1997) Orange County Water District
  
  In August 1997, the IJSBA held a three-day PWC race on an artificial lake constructed in Anaheim, California. The man-made lake was filled with 14 million gallons of Orange County drinking water. In order to use the water, a $250,000 bond was placed to guarantee that the water would be returned unspoiled.
  
  After an intense regimen of water testing, all the water was returned and the bond money was refunded. The water showed no trace of fuel.
  
  
• The Effects of Marine Engine Exhaust Emissions on Water Quality (1996) United States Environmental Protection Agency.


This is an EPA memo discussing marine engines and the effects of their exhaust emissions. Among the EPA’s findings are:
• The impact of marine engine exhaust emissions on the aquatic environment is mitigated to a large extent by the evaporation process.
• Most of the damage to flora attributed to marine craft is caused by propeller damage or turbulence…even this damage is minor when compared to natural processes such as wind-induced mixing or massive rises in vacuolate cyanophites.
• Many authors are hesitant about attributing all of the measured levels of pollutants associated with exhaust products found in lakes to watercraft.