Certified Clean Marinas Mean Healthier, Safer Waters

Marinas are like floating convenience stores - they carry supplies that make a day on the lake more enjoyable. They have snacks to keep your energy up and life jackets to keep you safe. Most sell maps and gas, plus gear to hook the big one and tubes to ride the wakes. Fortunately, there are some valley marinas with a special designation - Tennessee Valley Clean Marina Certification.

Certifying as a Clean Marina means more than scrubbing the dock at the end of the day. It’s a commitment to the environment that helps keep the water free of dangerous pollutants. The procedures supported by Tennessee Valley Clean Marina have been compiled in a checklist of best practices that directly impact the environment, with an emphasis on water quality.

Most marinas work hard to manage important, environmental issues such as fuel and sewage, for example. But a Tennessee Valley Clean Marina designation is added assurance that they meet or exceed stringent criteria developed by TVA. If a marina doesn’t pass the initial assessment, TVA will work with management to develop a plan of action with a goal of attaining certification.

More than 75 specific measures make up seven, fundamental subject areas, which include Sewage Management, Fuel Management, Recycling/Disposal and more. To be certified, a marina must achieve 75% of the actions identified in each subject area, according to RaSharon King, TVA watershed coordinator for the Tennessee Valley Clean Marina program.

“It isn’t about knocking one of the assessment sections out of the ballpark. It’s about doing a number of important actions correctly, day in and day out, across the board,” says King. “But it doesn’t stop there. Certified marinas are reassessed every 2-4 years,” she says.

Certified marinas are scattered across the Valley. A listing, plus additional information on the program, is available at Tennessee Valley Clean Marina Initiative.