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.
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