It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it, right? Not exactly.
According to Mattsson, the job is actually quite clean. “It’s such a simple process,” she says. “It’s crazy-easy. You’d have to try really hard to be messy.” At 21, Mattsson is petite, poised and immaculate. She’s also mature beyond her years — and obviously beyond mine as well. No matter how many times I tried to introduce potty humor into the conversation by misquoting various port-a-john slogans, she wouldn’t bite. Instead, she led me down to the Baykeeper II, the boat she captains during her summer breaks from college, and showed me how it works.
The tank in the hull of the Baykeeper II has a 300 gallon capacity, a powerful motor and a simple hose which can be easily connected to another boat’s sewage tank. When she has a pumpout to perform, Mattsson heads out in the Baykeeper II, pulling up alongside the boat to be serviced. Once the hose is connected, all it takes is a flick of a switch to start the motor which then draws out the sewage, transferring it to the Baykeeper II’s tank in a matter of minutes. Then Mattsson transports the sewage to one of Casco Bay’s 21 pumpout stations where she performs the process in reverse, emptying the Baykeeper II’s tank directly into Portland’s sewer system.
“And you don’t get dirty?” I pressed obsessively. I couldn’t seem to let it go despite the fact that Mattsson’s hands appear far cleaner than my own — there isn’t even a hint of dirt under her fingernails. Patiently, Mattsson shook her head and told me once again how easy it is, adding that “anyone driving, navigating or docking a boat is more than overqualified” to perform the task.
Indeed, some boaters — commercial and recreational — have already begun using the shoreside pumpout stations on their own, and that’s exactly what FOCB wants.
Back in 2005 when Casco Bay was first declared a no discharge area, banning even partially treated sewage from being dumped in the water, The Baykeeper II — piloted by Mattsson — was a great way to jumpstart the pumpout process. But FOCB’s ultimate goal is to get boaters to take care of sewage disposal on their own, without relying on the Baykeeper II’s “housecalls,” so to speak. That’s why in addition to servicing boats, Mattsson also helps to educate boaters, informing them of the 21 pumpout stations available for their use, the simplicity of the process, and the importance of keeping the bay clean — something Mattsson, who more or less grew up on Casco Bay, understands firsthand.
Mattsson’s family has always enjoyed recreational boating, and all of her jobs thus far have been nautical in nature. After working at Spring Point Marina, Mattsson took the necessary classes to obtain her captain’s license and began lobstering in the summers during high school using a family boat and traps she bought with her own money. “It was a pretty high paying summer job,” she says, and though it was hard work, she loved being on the water. Currently, she is serving her third summer as captain of the Baykeeper II, which, over the past three years has kept more than 100,000 gallons of raw sewage from being dumped in Maine’s coastal waters.
In August, Mattsson will return to the University of Maine in Orono for her senior year studying molecular and cellular biology, after which she may very well come back for a fourth summer aboard the Baykeeper II. At this point her long term plan is to complete a masters program which will certify her as a physician’s assistant so that she can pursue a career in medicine — a career that could potentially take her away from the water.
“I’m passionate about working in medicine,” Mattson says, “but I’ve never spent a summer not working on the ocean, so I recognize that I might have some challenges ahead of me.” If one thing is clear after speaking with Mattsson, it’s that she is shrewd and resolute enough to master just about any challenge. That and the fact that in the No. 2 business, she’s definitely a contender for No. 1.
— Belinda Ray