Pump-out cost in California: published rates

Published pump-out rates by region

These are prices that businesses publish on their own websites and rate sheets. We read 12 pages from 12 businesses in Southern California, Central California, the Bay Area, the Delta and Northern California. They are not DockDash prices, and your quote may differ.

Across the regions we have, the largest group is mobile pump-out, one visit: $35–$184.95 (6 published prices from 6 businesses in Southern California, the Bay Area, the Delta and Northern California).

Region pages: Southern California, San Francisco Bay Area, Delta & Rivers.

How pump-out is priced

Holding tanks are emptied at a dock pump-out station or by a mobile pump-out boat that comes to your slip. Station fees are usually low; mobile services charge per visit or per month.

Per visit (sometimes with a gallon cap) for mobile service; a flat fee or free at many stations.

What drives the cost

• Tank size and how often you need service.
• Mobile service versus taking the boat to a station.
• Monthly plans versus one-time visits.

What’s usually included, and what’s extra

How to read a quote

• Ask whether there is a gallon cap per visit.
• Ask what a missed or extra visit costs.
• Get the price in writing, with what is included, before work starts.

To check a price for your boat, try the service cost estimator; to line up two or three quotes on the same basis, use the quote comparison tool. What the job involves: Pump-out explained.

Every published price we found

• Aquarius Yacht Services San Diego · San Diego

  • $31.50–$42 per visit — Up to 40 gal; weekly $31.50, bi-weekly $36.75, monthly $42.00; $1.00/gal over 40 Includes: Mobile pump-out.
  • $52.50 per visit — On call, up to 40 gal; $1.00/gal over 40 Includes: Mobile pump-out.

  Services – Aquarius, undated, read 2026-11-11

• Captain Pumpout San Diego · San Diego

  • $39.95–$184.95 per visit — Single pumpout by tank size: up to 40 gal $39.95 ... 160-200 gal $184.95; 200+ call Includes: Single mobile pumpout.
  • $24.95–$38.95 per visit — Recurring: weekly up to 40 gal $24.95 (40-70 gal $33.95); bi-monthly/monthly up to 40 gal $29.95 (40-70 gal $38.95) Includes: Recurring mobile pumpout.

  Pricing - Captain Pumpout, © 2026 on the page (no other date), read 2026-11-11

• Pepe La Poo San Diego · San Diego

  • $15–$30 per visit — Up to 35 gal: live-aboard (52 weeks) $15, weekly (4+ weeks) $20, every 2 weeks $25, monthly $30 Includes: Mobile pump-out; second tank $10-$15; system flush $25/tank.
  • $40 per visit — On-call weekdays, up to 50 gal Includes: Mobile pump-out; second tank $10-$15; system flush $25/tank.
  • $1/gal — Large tanks over 50 gallons Includes: Mobile pump-out.

  Pepe La Poo - Services and Pricing, undated, read 2026-11-11

• Head Pumpers Avalon (Catalina Island) · Los Angeles & Orange County

  • $1/gal — $1.00/gal plus hook-up fee $35 (Avalon Harbor) or $40 (West Harbor: Descanso/Hamilton); cash/check; season April–October Includes: On-the-water pump-out at moorings.

  Head Pumpers, © 2026 on the page (no other date), read 2026-11-11

• Long Beach Shoreline Marina (City of Long Beach) Long Beach · Los Angeles & Orange County

  • Free flat price — Marina fixed pump-out stations, 24 hours Includes: Self-service pump-out.

  Long Beach Shoreline Marina, undated, read 2026-11-11

• City of Santa Barbara Waterfront Santa Barbara · Ventura & Santa Barbara

  • Free flat price — Fuel dock pump-out station, when fuel dock is open; 3 more pump-outs in Marina One Includes: Holding-tank pump-out.

  Waterfront Services | City of Santa Barbara, © 2026 on the page (no other date), read 2026-11-11

• Santa Cruz Port District Santa Cruz · Central Coast

  • Free flat price — Fuel dock pump-out, self-service 24 hours Includes: Pump-out.

  Boater Services - Santa Cruz Port District, © 2026 on the page (no other date), read 2026-11-11

• BayGreen Marine Sanitation El Cerrito · San Francisco Bay

  • $55–$175 per visit — Regular service rotation by total tank size: up to 40 gal $55 ... 166-190 gal $175; 190+ email Includes: Mobile pump-out.
  • $75 flat price — Non-client flagdown, up to 40 gallons Includes: Mobile pump-out.

  Services | BayGreen Marine Sanitation and Mobile Pump-Out | Helping to Keep San Francisco Bay Clean since 2006, undated, read 2026-11-11

• Boat To Boat Marine Services Tiburon · San Francisco Bay

  • $35 per visit — One-time pump-out 'starting at'; varies with location, tank size, offloads, demand Includes: One-time mobile pump-out.

  Boat To Boat Marine Services, undated, read 2026-11-11

• Bethel Harbor Bethel Island · Delta & Sacramento

  • $20 per visit — Starting price; unit not specified

  Pump Out Stations - Bethel Harbor, undated, read 2026-11-11

• Owl Harbor Marina Isleton · Delta & Sacramento

  • $20 per visit — Thursday pump-out day, 20 gallons
  • $50 per visit — Emergency mobile pump-out, any day other than Thursday

  Owl Harbor Marina, undated, read 2026-11-11

• Humboldt Bay Harbor District - Woodley Island Marina Eureka · Northern California

  • Free per visit — Sewage pump-out by District staff, free
  • $100 per visit — Emergency pump-out by District staff

  Woodley Island Marina Fee Schedule (Effective 11-01-2025), Effective 11-01-2025, read 2026-11-11

Methodology and limitations

• Sources: only the business’s own website or rate sheet. No reviews, directories, forums or quotes we requested. We did not contact any business.
• Sample: 19 published prices from 12 businesses on 12 pages. This is the set we could find, not a survey or a random sample, and many businesses don’t publish prices at all.
• Dates: we read every page on 2026-11-11. 1 of the pages carry a date or fiscal year, 4 show only a copyright year, and 7 have no date. Each price below shows what its page said.
• How we summarize: prices are grouped by unit (per foot, per hour, flat, per visit, per gallon) and by kind of job, and never mixed. The range runs from the lowest published price to the highest. The median gives each business one vote (the middle of its own range), so a yard with many size tiers doesn’t outweigh a diver with one price. Where a business wrote “starting at”, we used that figure, so real bills are often higher.
• Region pages exist only where at least 3 published prices from 2 or more businesses are available.
• Your quote may differ. Condition, access, season, and what’s included all change the price. Use these figures to ask better questions, not as a price promise.