CONTACT | DONATE | EVENTS
About Board of Directors Mission and Goals Staff Barnstable Clean Water Coalition Home Page E-Mail Newsletters Events Cape Cod Beer Race to the Pint Clean Water Wednesdays Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2017 Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2017 Photos Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2018 Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2018 – Photos Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2018 – Photos – 10 Mile Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2018 – Photos – 5 Mile Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2018 – Photos – Awards Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2018 – Photos – Crew Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2018 – Photos – General Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2018 – Photos – Relay Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2018 – Photos – Youth Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2018 – Results Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2019 Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2019 – Photos Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2019 – Photos – 10 Mile Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2019 – Photos – 5 Mile Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2019 – Photos – Awards Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2019 – Photos – Crew Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2019 – Photos – General Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2019 – Photos – Other Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2019 – Photos – Relay Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2019 – Photos – Youth Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2019 – Results Paddle for the Bays RACE Cape Cod 2019 – Photos with Tabs Living Lab Cape Cod Blog News Newsletter Signup Paddle 2019 – Photos with Tabs Privacy Policy Resources Affiliated Organizations Aquifer Conservation Tips Cyanobacteria Drinking Water Emerging Contaminants in our Water Getting Involved How Can You Help Protect Our Local Waters MassDEP Native New England Garden Nitrogen & Phosphorus Precinct Maps Private Wells Town of Barnstable Resources Video Library Video Library – Friendly Landscaping Video Library – In the Cranberry Bogs Video Library – On the Water Video Library – Septic Systems Video Library – Shellfish Video Library – About BCWC Wastewater Water Quality Information Watershed Maps Sitemap Terms of Use Ways To Get Involved Take Action Now USGS Tap Water Study What We Do Advocate 208 Plan Property Value Study Educate BHS Pond Monitoring Cape Cod Academy Water Days Diamondback Terrapins DNSI Restoration Mitigate Cotuit Retention Garden Dredging Hyannis Oyster Upweller Innovative/Alternative Septic Systems Marstons Mills Cranberry Bog Restoration Mill Pond Study Permeable Bioreactor The Shubael Pond Project Monitor Cranberry Bog Monitoring Invasive Algae Monitoring Marine Invasives Marstons Mills River Herring Run Marstons Mills River Streamflow Pond and Lake Stewardship SMAST Estuary Sampling
Living Laboratory Cape Cod Blog
APCC Cyanobacteria Alerts Cyanobacteria Alert – June 7 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – October 17 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – August 24 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – August 20 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – May 30 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – September 24 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – August 13 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – August 6 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – June 12 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – October 23 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – September 17 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – September 10 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – August 28 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – August 27 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – August 23 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – August 21 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – August 14 2024 Cyanobacteria Alert – August 6 2024 Books At The Water’s Edge: Landscape-Based Adaptations for Sea-level Rise in Barnstable PARCEL BY PARCEL: IN THE THREE BAYS WATERSHED A Guide to CLEAN WATER LIVING on Cape Cod THREE BAYS WATERSHED: Landscape-Based Solutions to Improve Water Quality Design with Nature on Cape Cod and the Islands Mill Pond Perched Wetland Study Living Laboratory Cape Cod BCWC Projects Cranberry Bog Restoration Project ‘Powerful resources.’ Marstons Mills cranberry bogs to return to wetlands with $1.6M grant (9/21/23) Cape Cod Neighbors Take Action to Save Their Ponds PFAS: What Are They and Why Do We Care? Barnstable County is Protecting Cape Cod’s Water Potty Talk Podcast Pot Calling the Kettle….Pond? Resources for Upcoming Citizen Forums – Town of Barnstable Sewer Assessment Ordinance Presentation Cape Cod Community College To Install Eco-Toilet After Falmouth Considers Eco-Toilets (6/24/22) Uninvited Guests Along Our Coasts Show your Support for Clean Water by completing this ARPA Survey! Barnstable County offers programs, loans to protect Cape’s water supply (4/9/23) A Summary of Title 5 Regulation Changes (8/31/23) Newsletter Coalition Quarterly Coalition Quarterly – Issue 1 (Fall 2017) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 2 (Winter 2018) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 3 (Spring 2018) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 4 (Summer 2018) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 5 (Fall 2018) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 6 (Winter 2019) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 7 (Spring 2019) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 8 (Summer 2019) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 9 (Fall 2019) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 10 (Winter 2020) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 11 (Spring 2020) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 12 (Summer 2020) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 13 (Fall 2020) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 14 (Winter 2021) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 15 (Spring 2021) DNSI Coalition Quarterly – Issue 16 (Summer 2021) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 17 (Fall 2021) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 18 (Winter 2022) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 19 (Spring2022) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 20 (Summer 2022) Coalition Quarterly – Special Double Issue – Issue 21 & Issue 22 (Fall 2022 & Winter 2023) Coalition Quarterly – Issue 23 Spring 2023 Coalition Quarterly – Issue 24 Summer 2023 Coalition Quarterly – Double Issue – Issue 25 Fall 2023, Issue 26 Winter 2024 Fall 2020 Newsletter Note from the Helm Weather Station at Fair Acres Country Day School — Making Science Fun Exploring Solutions to Excess Nutrients: Restoring Cape Cod’s Waters Summer 2020 Newsletter A Note from the Helm Summer Water Sampling Progress With Alternative Septic Systems Marstons Mills Cranberry Bog Restoration Summer Staff on the Move Why We Support BCWC Volunteer Spotlight Winter 2021 Newsletter A Note from The Helm That’s a Wrap! The Herring Are Coming and We Are Ready (COVID-Style)! Sands of Time AmeriCorps Spotlight Dead Neck Sampson’s Island Revisited By Local Author Three Bays Preservation Newsletter Three Bays Preservation – Vol. 52 (Spring 2015) Three Bays Preservation – Vol. 53 (Summer 2015) Three Bays Preservation – Vol. 54 (Winter 2016) Three Bays Preservation – Vol. 55 (Summer 2016) Three Bays Preservation – Vol. 56 (Fall 2016) What We Do At BCWC Welcome to the Living Laboratory: Come Learn with Us Meet one of our Partners: Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center National Water Quality Month: How You Can Make A Difference Nutrient Overload 101 Algal Blooms Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) All About the Birds Environmentalists Buy Surplus Oysters to Boost Shellfish Industry and Restore Imperiled Waterways Who are those people in those waders? Bioreactor Cranberry Bogs Are You an Invasive Crab? The Living Fossil of the Ocean Sea Sponges, Anemones, Tunicates Galore! Eelgrass: Where Did it All Go? What’s Your Preference? Soft-shelled or Hard-shelled Clams? A Dune’s Duties Diamondback Terrapins: A Girl’s Best Turtle White Sock Challenge Sea Level Rise Recycling urine to solve our wastewater problem (8/23/23) DNSI Island Time with Ranger Rick An Island Adventure The Adventure Continues… What a June day Plovers & Terns Willets: Determined to Thrive The Ides of Summer News Three Bays Preservation: We are one Cape (7/1/16) Told You So (8/22/16) Three Bays Preservation: Wastewater is everybody’s problem (9/30/16) Clean Water is a Fundamental Right of Citizenship (11/11/16) The Origins of Barnstable’s Drinking Water (1/13/17) Coloring in between the lines of a blue economy (2/22/17) Cape’s nitrogen crisis is treatable (8/3/17) ‘The Cape is not a one-size-fits-all approach to planning’ (11/22/18) Cape scientists, inmates explore life in the dead zones (5/4/19) Researchers seek to head off blooming problem in Cape ponds (8/12/19) Striking a balance (2/7/20) Lawsuit seeks major steps to stem septic pollution Hard times afflict Massachusetts’ iconic cranberry bogs, as economic and environmental changes reshape the industry Three Bays Preservation Gets New Name, Updated Mission (6/26/17) Press Release: Wonder of the Water Lecture Series (6/24/17) Lawsuit could disrupt real estate market in 2 Cape Cod towns (9/17/20) Barnstable High School launches $1.2M environmental science & technology lab (12/23/20) ‘Looks Like Something’s Guts Spilled All Over The Beach’ (1/22/21) Scientists find microplastics embedded in New Bedford and Cape Cod salt marshes (6/29/21) ‘It’s totally gone’: Mashpee’s water quality at an all-time low, report finds (7/29/21) Improving water quality in ponds starting to gain momentum says panel at regional summit (8/25/21) Conservation Law Foundation sues Barnstable, Masphee and state over wastewater cleanup (6/25/21) Barnstable Clean Water Coalition renews call to action at Osterville open house (6/28/17) Barnstable Clean Water Coalition Tackles Water Quality Crisis (6/29/17) PFAS advisory: State asks people to limit or not eat fish caught at 5 Cape Cod ponds (11/3/21) A ‘powerful tool’: New septic system technology aimed at helping to clean up Cape waters (11/6/2021) Mashpee Has No Good News About Its Struggles With Degraded Waters (11/12/21) New Septic Systems Promising In Protecting Upper Cape Water Systems (3/18/22) Rising temperatures a boon for harmful bacteria in Cape Cod’s fresh and salt water (2/2/22) Marstons Mills homes test nitrogen-removing septic wastewater system (6/3/22) BCWC Featured on Chronicle Flushing toilets on Cape Cod: Report shows waters increasingly polluted (2/22/23) PFAS are everywhere. Removing them from the Cape’s water supply will not be easy. (3/2/23) Three Bays Preservation renamed, focus expanded (8/2/17) Barnstable Clean Water Coalition: Cape’s nitrogen crisis is treatable (8/3/17) APCC offers plan to reduce Three Bays nitrogen (9/1/17) Barnstable Town Council adopts draft of long-term wastewater treatment plan (9/11/17) Ban bill aims to slow spread of PFAS damage (3/4/23) Proposed septic tax credit would save Cape and Islands residents thousands. Here’s how. (3/7/23) Barnstable Clean Water Coalition needs help counting fish. Why, and what you can do. (3/7/23) For the first time, EPA moves to limit ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water (3/14/23) Want to know more about PFAS? Drop in for a community forum in Barnstable on Saturday (3/23/23) Nationwide study to packaging bans: What the Cape can do about PFAS, the forever chemicals (3/28/23) A Toxic Stew on Cape Cod: Human Waste and Warming Water (1/1/23) New tech could one day scrub ‘forever chemicals’ from your tap water (4/16/23) Restoring a mill pond (10/8/17) River Herring are Running in Local Rivers (4/20/18) How PFAS are Entering America’s Water Supply (4/21/23) Opposition to Sampsons project misplaced (10/25/17) 50,000 oysters to grow in Hyannis tank (7/31/18) EPA announces limits on some ‘forever chemicals,’ but just a fraction are covered (3/14/23) ‘Ticking time bomb’: PFAS chemicals in drinking water alarm scientists over health risks (8/10/21) New book seeks to help Three Bays Watershed (1/25/18) What you need to know about PFAS or ‘forever’ chemicals (11/26/19) Landscaping with native plants can help clean Cape waters (2/8/18) BARNSTABLE TOWN NOTES (10/19/18) Watershed Update Presents Problems While Offering Hope (7/6/18) ‘Things are worse’: Cape Cod water quality is declining, says environmental group’s report (1/11/22) As Barnstable hunts for new sources of public drinking water, PFAS contamination rears its ugly head (9/3/21) Phosphorus Saved Our Way of Life—and Now Threatens to End It (2/27/23) APCC urges Healey to enforce Ocean Sanctuaries Act to block Holtec dumping (4/14/23) ‘This is in the next five to 10 years.’ Cape waters are heating up. Here’s why it matters. (5/18/23) Barnstable moves ahead with Cotuit Cut dredging (9/13/18) Dredging of entrance to Cotuit Bay begins (11/5/18) PFAS in lobsters? Another sign these harmful compounds are everywhere, researchers say (2/4/22) State tests: At least 5 radioactive materials, plus PFAS, in water at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (5/23/23) Septic tax credit increase eyed to clean Cape waterways (3/7/23) Mass. residents express concerns about cost and feasibility of proposed septic regulations (12/5/22) Brew, oysters take center stage at Cape Cod Beer’s fest (10/17/18) Healey administration unveils new permit system to address Cape water pollution (6/21/23) Clock to start ticking for Cape towns to reduce nitrogen pollution. Which town is exempt? (7/5/23) Here’s one plan for stopping forever chemicals in Massachusetts. Where does it stand? (7/25/23) Falmouth Is Losing Eelgrass. An Expert Explains Why That Matters (8/17/23) Pollution is threatening Cape Cod’s famous waters. Its towns are spending hundreds of millions to head off an environmental disaster. (8/18/23) Barnstable Board of Health, Town Council leadership at odds over sewering, development (10/25/18) Experimental Solutions to Reduce Nitrogen Pollution on Cape Cod (6/9/22) No PFAS: What environmentally friendly fire training looks like on Cape Cod (8/22/23) New Evidence Shows Pesticides Contain PFAS, and the Scale of Contamination Is Unknown (11/7/22) ‘A big PFAS issue in this area.’ How Hyannis airport walls PFAS from Cape drinking water (8/9/23) ‘A Perfect Storm Of Circumstances’: Mashpee Scientist Researches Seaweed, Jellyfish Surges (8/31/23) Is Beekeeping Wrong? (8/21/23) A Viable Alternative to Conventional Lawn? Cornell May Have Found One. (9/13/23) Cape Cod researcher studies how water quality, warming may affect seaweed, jellyfish (10/5/23) Developing a roadmap: Barnstable, EPA officials fast-track nitrogen removal efforts (10/29/18) Healey signs $1 billion tax package into law. Here’s what it means for your wallet. (10/4/23) Cape Cod researchers study removing PFAS from the waste stream (12/4/23) ‘Big, big growth of algae.’ Restored Marstons Mills wetlands to lessen nitrogen pollution (12/7/23) Black sludge, invasive seaweed, toxic algae: Cape Cod pond, coastal waters get poor marks (1/20/24) Cape Cod’s drinking water mostly ‘excellent,’ ponds and embayments mostly ‘unacceptable’: new report (1/17/24) The New Septic On The Block (11/13/23) Cape Cod needs to clean up its water. The solutions could cost billions (2/12/24) Cape Cod’s ‘power couple of pee-cycling’ wants you to save that liquid gold (2/12/24) PFAS hotspot in Hyannis is 225 times the state standard. What’s being done? (2/22/24) The State Wants To Turn Cranberry Bogs Into Wetlands. It’s Gritty Work Cape Cod Faces a Rising ‘Yellow Tide’ (2/12/24) APCC invests $1.2M in Three Bays stormwater management (10/29/18) BARNSTABLE AT WORK (8/26/19) Private well owners stuck with costs to treat ‘forever chemicals’ (2/15/23) What are PFAS chemicals, and should I be freaking out about them? (11/8/19) ‘The word is scary.’ Hyannis residents learning of prior PFAS exposure from blood tests (2/29/24) The airport in Hyannis plans to expand. What’s the strategy for PFAS contamination there? (4/25/24) Is coastal resiliency about re-building or retreating? Here’s what’s being considered. (5/17/24) ‘Forever chemicals’ are coming into Great Lakes through air, rainfall, new study shows (5/16/24) Cyberattacks on water systems are increasing, EPA warns, urging utilities to take immediate action (5/20/24) Zoning for the future: ‘We’re going to get a lot louder,’ says Barnstable Clean Water Assoc. (11/15/18) At the Edge of a warming world (9/26/19) Barnstable Board of Health to consider lifting nutrient restrictions (11/21/18) Barnstable Health Board delays action to modify water-quality regs (11/27/18) Health Board halts move to lift sewering cap (11/29/18) Easing of Barnstable’s nitrogen rules could prompt lawsuit (1/2/19) Barnstable: Wastewater plan in the works (1/4/19) Fla. red tide episode kills record number of sea turtles (1/17/19) Board of Health Resume Discussion (1/22/19) Sewer system could add value to a neighborhood (9/26/19) Are scalloping’s days numbered on Nantucket? (4/7/19) Watershed Action Alliance event addresses water issues (4/22/19) Santuit Pond Sounds Alarm On Freshwater (6/20/19) Toxic blooms prompt Cape pond advisories (6/24/19) 95 Environmental Rules Being Rolled Back Under Trump (12/21/19) Barnstable Board of Health says no to amended regulations (6/26/19) The Cape Has 1,000 Freshwater Ponds. How Many Are Toxic? (6/28/19) Red tide raises threat of shellfishing closures (7/1/19) Eastham, Orleans Shellfishing Areas Closed due to Red Tide Toxin (3/20/20) ‘Green’ stormwater systems helping clean coastal waters (7/25/19) Summertime, And Toxic Algae Is Blooming: Here’s What You Need To Know (7/26/19) New Hyannis building will better treat water for PFAS (8/6/19) $12 million water plant build gets underway in Hyannis (8/7/19) Pitch made for Upper Cape wastewater facility (8/7/19) Mashpee weighs wastewater management options (8/14/19) Federal grant to fund PFAS testing in Hyannis (9/25/19) Cape Cod must move faster to clean its ground water and coastal embayments (10/9/19) Exploring Solutions to Excess Nutrients: Restoring Cape Cod’s Waters APCC: Herring counts show mixed results (12/5/19) Falmouth Water Quality Group Examines Alternative Septic Systems (12/24/19) County Connections – Featured Program: Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center (1/16/20) Cape seen as protected from weakening of Clean Water Act (1/24/20) Troubled waters: Scientists test for links between lower herring counts & cyanobacteria (1/31/20) Relocate Cape Cod Hospital, halt risky expansion (3/9/20) Barnstable Warns of Fertilizer Threat to Ecosystem (7/19/21) The cleaning power of oysters My View: Peers and Piers My View: Time for Title 6 My View: NIMBYism and Wastewater Barnstable Clean Water Coalition Tackles Water Quality Crisis Madaket Marine using oysters to combat algae blooms (7/22/21) Pilot project uses bioreactor to filter nitrogen from Barnstable waters (9/4/20) CLF sues Barnstable over pollution in Lewis Bay (2/17/21) Rep. Keating Sees Legislative Opportunities For Cape Water Quality Goals Cape ponds test positive for toxic bacteria (5/30/21) Barnstable Clean Water Coalition To Break Ground On Innovative Septic System Project (10/5/21) Interview with Sunday Journal Group pilots alternative wastewater treatment system in Marstons Mills (10/11/21) Podcast Urges Water Stewardship On Cape Cod (4/8/22) Backed-up pipes, stinky yards: Climate change is wrecking septic tanks (4/12/22) First year of Wellfleet oyster project deemed success, as 25,000 pounds of shells recycled (9/30/21) BCWC on the Front Page of today’s Boston Globe BCWC lands $750,000 EPA pilot grant for bog restoration (10/14/21) Marstons Mills site of 1st national water quality study of its kind (5/18/22) Thousands of Cape Cod homeowners may need to replace septic systems under new state regulations (11/28/22) New plans emerge to save many Cape Cod ponds, lakes threatened by pollution (6/23/22) BCWC Featured on WXTK (12/11/22) Nitrogen Reclassification Will Put Emphasis On Innovative Systems (8/31/22) Cape Cod’S Evolving Wastewater Crisis: Facing Reality and Finding Solutions (2/14/23) Discover Barnstable Podcast on Forever Chemicals Massachusetts Oyster Project 2022 Annual Report H2O:The Molecule That Made Us (April 2020) Mass Oyster Featured on WCVB Channel 5 Boston (3/13/23) Forecasting our future: Mass. company turns ocean waste into fashion choice (3/13/23) Healey Tax Plan Includes Septic Credit (3/8/23) Scientists warn of ‘phosphogeddon’ as critical fertiliser shortages loom (3/12/23) Regulators Take Emergency Action in Attempt to Save Stripers (5/8/23) Mashpee residents push town leaders to act on water quality (6/7/23) Barnstable County Launches Low-Interest Septic Loan Program (3/2/23) Sunday Journal – The Future of Title 5 Septic in Barnstable County (7/14/23) EPA Awards State $275,000 To Support Water Quality Monitoring (8/14/23) Cyanobacteria closes Mashpee-Wakeby Pond, raising concerns of ‘toxic summer’ (6/13/23) New state rules mean thousands of Cape Cod homeowners may need to replace septic systems (6/21/23) Cape Cod’s water quality is getting worse, report finds (1/3/22) Mass. Releases New Rules to Clean Up Cape Cod Pollution (6/21/23) MVYRADIO Reporter Joe Stickles interviews Zee Crocker-Executive Director of the Barnstable Clean Water Coalition (1/14/24) New state regs finalized: Cape Cod towns must reduce nitrogen pollution or homeowners will pay (6/21/23) New study suggests PFAS might be in almost half of US tap water. See the results from Cape Cod (7/21/23) Cape Cod Water Resources Restoration Project JBCC Pollution Could Delay Regional Wastewater Plan (7/21/23) PFAS mitigation at Cape Cod Gateway Airport to be discussed Monday at public meeting (8/6/23) Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Over $1.7 Million to Acquire Retired Cranberry Bogs for Wetlands Restoration (9/19/23) Water quality ‘unacceptable’ for 90% of Cape Cod’s coastal bays (1/17/24) Sierra Cape Cod “Tuesday Talks” – Joint Base Cape Cod (1/16/24) County To Expand Assistance For Sewer, Septic Upgrades (2/29/24) Why septic tanks have become such a big problem on Cape Cod compared to the rest of Mass. (2/12/24) WBUR Collaborates with Scientific American to Spread Awareness about Nutrient Pollution from Septic Systems on Cape Cod (2/14/24) Two Birds With One Tiny House – Editorial (5/24/24) Capewide Events Will Offer Coastal Resilience And Smiles (5/23/24) Falmouth Moves Forward With Study To Answer Questions About Urine Diversion Pilot (5/23/24)