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Show • Temporarily close beaches or parts of beaches where water quality standards are being violated until monitoring shows a return to normal. • Develop the heavily visited beaches to control use, providing suitable toilets and, if needed, sewage treatment. Designated parking might also be used to keep vehicles away from the beach. Facilities and zoning to organize the use of watercraft could be included. III. D. 3. Recommended course of action. Alternatives B and D are recommended. Alternative A would not adequately protect the public health, in view of the rising levels of bacterial contamination of Lake Powell beach areas. The approved construction of a new marina at Antelope Point and the expansion of marinas at Wahweap, Bullfrog, and Halls Crossing with the expected increase in lake recreation make this alternative even less acceptable. Alternative C would improve the effectiveness of management programs aimed at water quality, but it is not actually necessary for justifying management action and would be expensive to implement. Monitoring under Alternative B will reveal whether contamination exists, and if so, where. If it does exist, corrective action is needed regardless of research on contamination sources. The combination of Alternatives B and D is thus the most direct way to address the problem. The effect of these two alternatives would be to enhance the protection of public health and recreational values of Lake Powell; it would also moderately increase the cost of boating sports and may substantially increase controls over shoreline use. I I. E. Gray Water III. E. 1. Statement of the problem. Wash water discharged from watercraft is often termed " gray water," a term derived from the soapy, gray color of such discharges. As used in this plan, the term refers to sink, shower, and dishwasher discharges; the term completely excludes sewage or any water containing human wastes (" black water"), which are prohibited discharges. There are presently no regulations governing the use or discharge of gray water into Lake Powell. All boats, including private houseboats, are required to contain sewage so that it is not discharged into the lake. Lake Powell rental houseboats have holding tanks for sewage that are emptied at marina " pumpout" stations and the waste pumped to sewage treatment facilities onshore. Drinking water is stored, in tanks on the boat that are filled from treated water supplies at the marinas. It is supplied to users through separate taps. Water used for domestic chores such as washing is pumped from the lake into the boat for use, and discharged back into the lake as " gray water." 32 |