Water and Houseboat Holding Tanks

by Nick Vitale
(Vermilion, Oh)

A typical Houseboat Holding Tank

How do you handle problems with houseboat holding tanks? How do you deal with Grey water, Black water?
What are the different ways to store or contain all of the water, grey water, and black water. Thanks.

Reply - Answer
Good question Nick, since many people with houseboats have issues or problems with holding tanks.

To help clarify the different tanks, these are the common holding tanks.

Tank Construction commonly are made of aluminum, stainless steel, plastic, or polyethylene style materials. They can range in size from 5 gallons to whopping 200 gallons and beyond. You can buy standard sizes, or have tanks made to measure.

Water Tanks are designed to hold clean potable water, and pumps are used to distribute it throughout the houseboat.

Grey Water Tanks are meant to hold waste from the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and shower. Often, grey water is either dumped overboard, and some installations allow for diverting into a holding tank.

Black Water Tanks are for holding the waste from the toilet, and both the grey and black water tanks are generally vacuumed out at pump out marinas equipped with the suitable equipment. Some houseboats are equipped with more advanced MSD types of holding systems that treat black water.

Lastly, hopefully some of our readers will share & post comments on some of their systems and tips, that keep a houseboat clean and fresh smelling.

Hope this all helps, IAN - from www.all-about-houseboats.com