Conversion of a Fish Farm WorkBarge to Accommodations

So I'm still up at the Broughton Archipelago building houses, and the client has a moderate sized concrete barge with a two story steel buildin on it that has housed the fish food stores. They want me to convert it to a small accommodations barge. Interior framing, windows, doors, heat, ac, all well within my skill set. The only mystery to me (so far as I know) is the blackwater holding tank for six bedrooms. As usual Transport Canada and Environment Canada seem to have nothing to say except "do it right".

So the usual: what do I not know enough to even recognize my own ignorance, and what are the guidelines for blackwater tank installation?

 

I'm not sure about Canada, but down here in the States, it is OSHA who has a lot to say about berthing barges. As soon a sleeping aboard comes into the picture, it kicks in a significant increase in safety measures. Might want to check IMO and SOLAS (look for accommodation vessel)

As far as black water, it is typically 8-10 gal/day/person... less with vacuum flush. And that assumes you separate out grey water (generally a good thing). Check your Marine Sanitation Device (MSD) requirements.
Sewage https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/marine-safety/sewage

 

Thanks John. That's a great first slice. It's a Federal Government grant job, so absolutely fixed price. Funny how that goes. Some contracts seem to be unlimited until the House gets tired of it. Not for me.

This won't be a movable vessel. It's permanently attached into a floating village of other similar structures. That's probably an important detail.

Here's some relevant views.

In the satellite image it's the teal coloured roof lower left in the cluster

 

Just a question....is it a company provided accommodation for workers or a "for rent" accommodation like a fish camp room? Around here (WA state), that makes a difference.

 

I would think one or more Raritan treatment systems , or the same type black water system that are on tug boats would do the job .

 

@DogCavalry can you maybe post an exterior view or two of the barge please?
Re how it will have 6 bedrooms, I presume 3 on each deck?
Will each one have an ensuite bathroom, or maybe one bathroom per deck?
Re the fresh water supply, will it be a hose coming from the dock, or will you have a large FW tank on the barge?

Re Transport and Environment Canada simply saying vaguely 'do it right' - that is a bit of a cop out really if they themselves are rather vague as to what 'right' is.
They probably don't know (or can't say) if a stability test is required for the barge?
I would think that even though it is permanently moored in the marina to a floating pontoon it would still be a prudent move to evaluate the stability in perhaps the worst possible loading condition - maybe with the 6 occupants (or are the rooms for two people each?) all on one side on the top deck, and with slightly full (re free surface effects) tanks.
Will a grey water tank be required as well?
If just the black water tank will require to be pumped out ashore (perhaps to a road tanker?), can this be done easily with the houseboat in it's permanent position?

 

Ask the neighbors , and then ask the Canadian Coast Guard , see if it is docked in a discharge area . Even if it requires a holding tank and pump out , I would have a treatment system . I got an incinerator toilet off a RR bridge we switched out , I haven't hooked it up anywhere yet , probably never will . After the first flush the seat is warm , maybe a good thing in Canada .

 

To answer the questions so far

1- the intent is to accommodate paying visitors in the summer, and workers in the winter.
2- no pix available now. Three bedrooms upstairs, with a shared bathroom, with two toilet, two sinks, two showers, and the same down.
3- gray water out, and black water in a a holding tank. Or perhaps incinerator toilets. Still exploring possibilities.

There's no available land service. No power, water or septic. The barge is self contained.

I'm looking at reverse osmosis water supply, which may well supply the other buildings on the big raft, because currently they are bringing drinking water by boat in water cooler jugs.

 

I looked at the Marina Facebook page to see if it was a discharge area , no info on that . But March 14th post was ' waist water going through for Echo Bay " , might want to check before you go for a holding tank .

 

How often does the "Honey Wagon" go by and how much to pump?
Composting toilets may be easiest but require regular attention...
A small processing plant would be ideal but there's no power you say...
The only dumping zones are off-shore in Canada so that's not going to work...

But wait, the Natives get away with anything up there don't they...?
Ask them.

 

It's a tourist draw, so even if they could dump nuclear waste and condemned tuna they wouldn't.

The other buildings have large... I guess they'd be septic tanks. Only pumped out every two years.

 

There you go.

 

Call Raritan to explore options once you know you need to store wastes. Their customer service is incredible. Jerry Amari even tolerated me.

 

I'll do that. I don't know enough myself to choose between holding tanks, septic tanks, and decomposing systems.

 

@Tad , can you recommend a plumber for this work?