CONTACT | DONATE | EVENTS

Barnstable Clean Water Coalition
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Contact Us
  • EVENTS
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Educate
    • Monitor
    • Mitigate
    • Advocate
  • NEWS
  • GET INVOLVED
  • RESOURCES
    • BCWC Video Library
    • A Guide to Clean Water Living on Cape Cod
    • Native New England Garden
    • Cape Cod Water Quality Management Plan (208 Plan)
    • Affiliated Organizations
    • APCC’s Cyanobacteria Monitoring
    • MassDEP
    • Water Quality Information
    • Town of Barnstable Resources
    • Town of Barnstable’s Water Resources Brochure
  • DONATE
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Contact Us
  • EVENTS
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Educate
    • Monitor
    • Mitigate
    • Advocate
  • NEWS
  • GET INVOLVED
  • RESOURCES
    • BCWC Video Library
    • A Guide to Clean Water Living on Cape Cod
    • Native New England Garden
    • Cape Cod Water Quality Management Plan (208 Plan)
    • Affiliated Organizations
    • APCC’s Cyanobacteria Monitoring
    • MassDEP
    • Water Quality Information
    • Town of Barnstable Resources
    • Town of Barnstable’s Water Resources Brochure
  • DONATE
Homepage > News > APCC invests $1.2M in Three Bays stormwater management (10/29/18)

APCC invests $1.2M in Three Bays stormwater management (10/29/18)

October 29, 2018 In News

The Barnstable Patriot
Posted Oct 29, 2018 at 2:00 AM

APCC invests $1.2M in Three Bays stormwater management

 

[Photo by: Alan Belanich]

The Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) is partnering with the town of Barnstable Department of Public Works (DPW), the Barnstable Clean Water Coalition, the Horsley Witten Group and the Barnstable Land Trust on a five-year local, state and federally funded project to improve water quality in the Three Bays watershed through better stormwater management.

This multi-phase project got under way in 2016 with a $472,574 grant from the U.S. EPA’s Southeast New England Program (SNEP). That initial effort has now expanded to a $1.2 million project, including $119,002 awarded to the town from two Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management Coastal Pollutant Remediation grants; an additional $350,000 in federal funding awarded to APCC from the SNEP Watershed Grants program managed through Restore America’s Estuaries; and a combined $301,045 of in-kind labor and contributions from the project partners.

“This new funding will support Phase II of this project effectively doubling the scope and impact of this successful collaboration,” said April Wobst, APCC Restoration Coordination Center and Three Bays stormwater project manager, in an Oct. 23 statement.

The Three Bays watershed, like many coastal estuaries on Cape Cod, continues to suffer from the impacts of nutrient and bacteria contamination. High levels of nitrogen result in algal blooms and fish kills and bacteria contamination from pet and wildlife waste causes regular shellfish and beach closures. Stormwater runoff and fertilizers are two important contributors to this problem.

Dan Santos, Barnstable DPW director, said the DPW has been taking a multi-faceted approach to addressing water quality concerns across the town.

“Stormwater management is one piece of the puzzle and a key strategy for the Three Bays watershed,” Santos said. “The town has committed significant resources to this effort, including over $120,000 in-kind contributions for this project alone.”

The team completed a watershed assessment in early 2017 to identify sites where installation of green infrastructure stormwater systems could help address the problem. These low-impact designs, which incorporate the use of plants and soil, work to capture rain water and remove nitrogen, bacteria and other pollutants before they wash into the bays.

Treatment of runoff at these priority locations will help address poor water quality in the bays, benefitting the environment and the local economy, including fishing and shellfishing as well as property values.

The project is currently preparing to begin construction on two new stormwater treatment systems: the first to be located at Cordwood Landing; the second, adjacent to Prince Cove marina.

Horsley Witten Group, the stormwater engineering firm, has worked with the project team to complete assessment, design and permitting, and will be managing construction in collaboration with the town. The green infrastructure stormwater treatment systems installed will eliminate 70-85 percent of bacteria and 55 percent of nitrogen from runoff at these sites. In addition, the systems will reduce impervious surface, remove invasive plant species, and provide improved public access.

With the additional funding, the watershed assessment will be expanded. Design, permitting and construction of additional treatment systems is anticipated for completion by 2021.

The long-term goal is to improve water quality in the bays supporting ecological restoration, as well as commercial and recreational uses. Success will be measured by reduction in pollutants (nitrogen and bacteria in particular), algal blooms, fish kills, beach and shellfish closures as well as improvement to habitat for fish, shellfish and other wildlife.

For more information, contact April Wobst at APCC at 508-619-3185 ext. 6 or Dale Saad at DPW at 508-790-6400.

The Barnstable Patriot – APCC invests $1.2M in Three Bays stormwater management

News The Barnstable Patriot
Previous StoryDeveloping a roadmap: Barnstable, EPA officials fast-track nitrogen removal efforts (10/29/18)
Next StoryCoalition Quarterly – Issue 5 (Fall 2018)

Barnstable Clean Water Coalition

  • Email
    info@BCleanWater.org
  • Phone
    508-420-0780
  • Address
    PO Box 215
    864 Main Street
    Osterville, MA 02655

Recent Posts

  • Want to know more about PFAS? Drop in for a community forum in Barnstable on Saturday (3/23/23) Friday, 24, Mar
  • For the first time, EPA moves to limit ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water (3/14/23) Tuesday, 14, Mar
  • Proposed septic tax credit would save Cape and Islands residents thousands. Here’s how. (3/7/23) Tuesday, 7, Mar
  • Barnstable Clean Water Coalition needs help counting fish. Why, and what you can do. (3/7/23) Tuesday, 7, Mar
  • Ban bill aims to slow spread of PFAS damage (3/4/23) Saturday, 4, Mar

Popular Posts

  • PFAS are everywhere. Removing them from the Cape’s water supply will not be easy. (3/2/23) posted 3 weeks ago
  • Proposed septic tax credit would save Cape and Islands residents thousands. Here’s how. (3/7/23) posted 3 weeks ago
  • Ban bill aims to slow spread of PFAS damage (3/4/23) posted 3 weeks ago
  • Barnstable Clean Water Coalition needs help counting fish. Why, and what you can do. (3/7/23) posted 3 weeks ago
  • For the first time, EPA moves to limit ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water (3/14/23) posted 2 weeks ago

Tags

Algae APCC At The Water's Edge BCWC Projects Books CAI Cape & Plymouth Business Media Cape Cod Groundwater Guardians Cape Cod Online Cape Cod Times Cape Cod Today Cape Media News Cape News Clean Water Mondays Clean Water Wednesdays Coalition Quarterly Cranberry Bogs Design With Nature Discover Barnstable Podcast DNSI EPA Forever Chemicals Harmful Algal Blooms Herring Count I/A Septic System Technology

Archives

  • DONATE
  • VOLUNTEER
  • SIGN UP FOR OUR EMAILS

Three Bays Preservation, Inc. dba Barnstable Clean Water Coalition is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Federal Tax ID#:  04-3338308.

Copyright ©2019 Barnstable Clean Water Coalition, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy | Terms | Sitemap | Site Produced by Coastal Mountain Creative