SEQUIM — What started as a summer school exercise in problem solving at Sequim Middle School has snowballed into an ongoing education project about the environmental hazards of fueling a boat.
A group of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders took on the project after visiting John Wayne Marina and seeing a demonstration on how easy it is to spill boat fuel into the water while filling up — and how simple it is to prevent such spills.
Once their research was complete, the students began giving demonstrations on preventing the spills — first at the Dungeness River festival, then to local Kiwanis clubs.
Now they have a DVD available of their talk, have received grant money to help cover expenses and even attracted interest from the governor’s office.
The goal now is a lofty one — eliminating boat fuel spills across the entire state.
“We were surprised in the beginning” about the amount of interest, said Claire Koenigsaecker, the Sequim Middle School teacher who leads the class along with paraeducator Rich Sill.
4.5 million gallons
According to the class’ research, 4.5 million gallons of fuel are spilled each year in Washington — 2 million gallons in Puget Sound — with the No. 1 source being human error during fueling or fuel transfer.
Most spills occur when the boat’s tank is overfilled and fuel leaks out a vent designed to allow vapor pressure escape safely.
Though most spills are small, the cumulative effect on life below the waterline can be significant. A petroleum sheen on the water can block sunlight needed by underwater plants and poison fish — and it’s ugly, too.
As part of the presentation, students demonstrate a specially designed container that catches any fuel leaking out of the vapor vent.
