Our friends at Barnstable Clean Water Coalition alerted us to an opportunity for Cape Cod residents to have a say in how Barnstable County spends $41M in American Rescue Plan (ARPA)funding. Now's the time to use infrastructure dollars to reduce nitrogen pollution in our waterways. Please read below and take the following action: Complete the …
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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Great Primer on Nitrogen Pollution on Cape Cod
A shout out to the Buzzards Bay Coalition for this concise but powerful overview of the damage nitrogen pollution is causing to Cape waterways. Substitute Buzzards Bay with Shoestring Bay and and you'll understand the looming disaster for our home. West Falmouth homeowner Bob Kretschmar first noticed it about 10 years ago: slimy green algae …
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Barnstable to Break Ground on 1st Sewer Expansion Project
Well folks, Barnstable is about to take the first step in its 30-year plan to reduce nitrogen emissions from septic systems in our waterways. Following is the town's press release announcing the Strawberry Hill Road Sewer Expansion Project. Town of Barnstable Announces Groundbreaking on First Major Sewer Expansion ProjectThe Town of Barnstable Department of Public …
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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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Kiss 22% of Your Home’s Value Goodbye: Property Values Drop When Water Pollution Rises
In recent posts we’ve documented the decades-long decline of Shoestring Bay and other Cape estuaries due primarily to the effluent coming from our Title 5-approved septic systems. The stuff that comes out of our home water waste lines winds up in our waterways, creating nutrient (nitrogen/phosphates) overload and habitat degradation. If the thought of year-round …
Rearranging the Deck Chairs: Barnstable’s New Sewering Financial Model Still Leaves Waterways Imperiled
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 …
Save Our Shoestring 