In March 2021, the Town of Barnstable unveiled its preliminary cost model for paying for the $1.4 billion multi-decade project of sewering of the town. Half of the cost would be come from existing funds. The rest would fall on property owners, to the tune of a $17,000/property assessment, paid out over 30 years. An …
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Shoestring Bay Can’t Wait Another 20 Years: Approve I/A Systems Now
For more than 20 years, the towns of Barnstable and Mashpee have known that Shoestring Bay was being slowly destroyed by excess nitrogen from septic systems leaching into the groundwater. They've known that Title 5-approved septic systems were never designed to remove nitrogen from wastewater. And they've known that the installation of Title 5 septic …
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Why Title 5 Doesn’t Work For the Cape
Title 5 is a Massachusetts regulation that requires the proper siting, construction, and maintenance of septic and other on-site wastewater disposal systems. When it was enacted in 1995 Title 5 was hailed as a model of environmental stewardship, designed to protect the Commonwealth’s waterways and communities from contamination. Conventional Septic System Design Fast-forward to 2021 …
You Think Fixing our Waterways is Expensive?
The town of Barnstable estimates it will cost $1.4billion to undo the decades of neglect of our polluted, dying waterways. That could cost a property owner $17k over 30 years for sewering costs and other remediation technologies. Yup, that's a lot of money. But the cost of doing nothing is even scarier. The decrease in …
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Sewering Comes to Barnstable…But Not Shoestring Bay
The Back Story:Over-Nutrification of Cape WaterwaysFor decades, Shoestring Bay has been under attack by nitrogen-rich septic system effluent [human urine] that leaches from Title-5 septic systems. The nitrogen from our leaching fields moves quickly through the Cape's sandy soil (up to five times faster than text book Title-5 flow rates) into the water table, and …
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Learn about the Barnstable Sewer Assessment Ordinance
What: A proposal for a Sewer Assessment Ordinance to finance a portion of the cost to construct the sewer expansion will be presented for community discussion at a series of virtual public forums. Who: Mark Ells, Barnstable Town Manager, will present the proposed sewer assessment ordinance; along with Daniel Santos, Director, Department of Public Works; and Mark …
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Another Win for Shoestring Bay
Following its successful Supreme Court challenge to the city of Maui, the Conservation Law Foundation has put Barnstable, Mashpee, and the Mass. DEP on notice that it intends to file a lawsuit to stop septic systems from pumping nitrogen and phosphorous pollution into local waterways. CLF is not only seeking the temporary suspension of new …
Good News About the Bay
For more than 20 years, Cape Cod residents, scientists, and citizen organizations have been sounding the alarm about the decline of ourwaterways due to nitrogen pollution, among other contributors. It's been a long slog for these committed neighbors and organizations. Residents and town officials have balked at the cost and inconvenience of mitigating nitrogen run …
Toxic Bacteria in 2 Barnstable Ponds
Two more ponds closed due to toxic algae blooms. Read Cape Cod Times article. How many bodies of water in Barnstable need to be ruined before the town takes bold, brave action on saving our bays, ponds, and streams?
Mashpee Voters Approve Funding for Wastewater Treatment Plant Design
Shoestring Bay flows between two towns on the Cape - Barnstable and Mashpee. While we at Save Our Shoestring live in Barnstable, we work closely with Mashpee Clean Waters to raise awareness of the desperate situation in our Bay. And thanks to the hard work of Mashpee Clean Waters, the town is edging closer to …
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Save Our Shoestring 