The Barnstable Patriot
September 1, 2017
APCC offers plan to reduce Three Bays nitrogen
Stormwater runoff and fertilizer account for more than 23 percent of the nitrogen polluting the Three Bays watershed, according to the first phase of a three-year study by the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the Barnstable Clean Water Coalition and the town of Barnstable.
Three Bays is severely degraded by nitrogen and bacteria, resulting in poor water quality, degraded habitat and closures of beaches and shellfish areas, restoration ecologist April Wobst told an audience of two dozen local residents at Osterville Village Library Wednesday. Excess nutrients cause algae blooms, block out light, use up oxygen and kill fish and shellfish in beach waters, especially after heavy rains.