Boating, Bilges And Berryessa: Promoting Clean Waterways
I have the good fortune of being friends with one of the smartest people in NorCal, Marianne Butler of The Solano Resource Conservation District. She also happens to be one of those people who can make complex concepts understandable and fun to explore, so she’s a frequent guest on The Morning Show. She and I had a conversation last week about the start of the local Boating Season, which generally begins Memorial Day Weekend. Marianne explained that a number of factors are present this season that could make boating more dangerous, including low water levels in our local lakes and unprecedented crowds responding to the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions. Besides that, power boats and jet skis pollute our waterways when they aren’t properly prepared, so Marianne detailed the upcoming Solano RCD Boater Outreach Program for 2021. This is a program for boaters and jet skiers to get their free 2021 California boater kit, that comes with an oil absorbent device they can put in their bilge compartment. “We are at Lake Berryessa, and other marinas in Solano County every weekend now through Labor Day to pass out the 2021 California Boater Kit,” she explained. “The kit comes with 3 motor oil and fuel absorbent pads, a West Marine coupon, and other great resources. Boaters receive the kit after completing a short survey with our team, and if they install the oil absorbent from the kit right away, they can receive an additional gift like a tee shirt or canteen.”
Information about these activities can be found at solanorcd.org.
John Young
