Photo: The Patriot Ledger, August 7, 1996 Remember the old Standells’ 1965 tune Dirty Water, a tongue-in-cheek ode to the (then) filthy Charles River? Well, 30 years and a ton of hard work later, Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld showed just how clean the Charles had become by leaping (off-script) into the chilly brown waters of …
Category: Latest News
Code Red: Stop Ignoring Shoestring Bay
A History of Inaction Massachusetts leaders have long been considered in the vanguard of environmental stewardship and coastal resource preservation. But for 20+ years, State, County, and Town leaders have known about the link between excess nitrogen loading in a watershed and deteriorating water quality on Cape Cod. They’ve known that Shoestring Bay and the broader …
We’re Done Waiting
The common refrain we hear from state and local government officials every time we plead for a moratorium on Title 5 septic installations and the immediate approval of High Performance Innovative Alternative (HPIA) septic systems is, “It’s too soon. The data is inconclusive. And IA systems aren’t good enough.” Well, the State of Washington would …
Mass. DEP Takes a Baby Step
On June 1, 2022 the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued the much-awaited draft of its "let's fix Title 5" Fact Sheet [download] entitled "MassDEP Regulatory Strategy for Estuaries Impaired by Nitrogen." The proposed rules could "require upgrades of all existing systems to add nitrogen removal technology within five years of the regulation’s approval …
Mashpee Proposes What Barnstable Won’t Even Consider
For the last few years, we have been politely asking everyone in charge at the Town of Barnstable to allow homeowners in areas the sewer won't reach for a decade or more to install, at our own cost, an I/A septic system to speed up the attack on nutrient pollution. And with each phone call, …
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A Call to Action for State Leaders in 2022
Happy new year everyone! Here's hoping 2022 is a milestone year for improving the quality of Shoestring Bay and all nitrogen-polluted waterways on the Cape. We've been pretty tough on the Town of Barnstable as we work to raise awareness of the dangers facing Shoestring Bay and other affected bodies of water. But we've come …
Inching Closer to a Better I/A Measurement Tool
Amid the drumbeat of bad news about the declining water quality within Shoestring Bay and other Cape Cod waterways, we’ve got some good news to report. The Cape’s Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center (MASSTC) announced that we’ve moved one step closer to having a superior nitrogen sensor to measure the compliance of I/A septic …
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Some Hopeful News from Town Council Workshop on Shoestring Bay’s Future
As we reported on July 28, 2021, Prof. Brian Howes opened his annual report presentation to the town of Mashpee on the state of our waterways with these ominous words: "For the first time in 20 years I have nothing good to say." Well, I'm pleased to report that, after hearing Town Manager Mark Ells' …
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Tonight: Town Council Workshop on Sewer Funding
On July 1, the Town Council approved the $10,000 sewer assessment fee for each residential property slated for sewering. If you're able to tune in to tonight's Town Council Meeting on local Channel 18/YouTube, you'll hear Town Manager Mark Ells and the Council debate how to use general funds when existing revenue sources fall short …
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A Few Take Aways from Doomsday Report on Our Bays
We're still digesting the data and observations from Prof. Brian Howes' distressing report to the Town of Mashpee Board of Selectmen on the steadily declining water quality of our bays due to nitrogen pollution. Howes is Chancellor Professor at the School for Marine Science + Technology at UMass. Dartmouth and has been tracking the decline …
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Save Our Shoestring 