Barnstable Clean Water Coalition Quarterly: Fall/Winter 2025

Double Issue 28 Fall/Winter 2025 Barnstable COALITION CLEANWATER Coalition Quarterly CLEAN WATER CLOCK 2024 2024 2042 2062 20 YEARS 40 YEARS Sewers & EIAs Sewers Alone Modeling the Future

A Note From The Helm MODELS MATTER The complexity of our world comes into focus almost every day. We experience or read about some weather event or condition, and we ask, “Is it natural or is it climate change?” Is this something “we” made happen? When it comes to the waters in and around Cape Cod, we know the answer. Thousands of us have gradually changed the ground and surface waters through our wastewater disposal. Water chemistry is now significantly different with increasing levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, other elements and contaminants. We have algal blooms in our estuary that turn the water brown. Our ponds and lakes are no No matter the cause, climate change and warmer longer pristine, and many are periodically closed due to conditions are having an impact. Water usage trends and cyanobacteria outbreaks. water saving devices have led to a near doubling of the As a society, and throughout history, we have relied on assumed nitrogen concentrations in our septic systems. models, “math” to help us understand and hopefully predict On the flip side, atmospheric nitrogen has declined as coal something. The best day to day example of this is weather plants have closed. forecasting. Models to predict the weather are good Change is not easy, but we are convinced that an adaptable, examples of a well-known aphorism in the 1970’s, “all models open-source modeling approach is what the Cape, the are wrong, but some are useful”. Forecasters never seem to Islands and the entire southeastern Massachusetts coast get the weather exactly right! need. No doubt, the “devil will be in the details”, and we In 2001, the late Dr. Brian Howes and his team developed DO NOT advocate going back to “square one”. Existing the Massachusetts Estuary Project (MEP) model to legal and environmental goals can be incorporated, and a determine nitrogen inputs in estuaries. At the time, this new model can be adopted to allow us to achieve the goal: model was groundbreaking and cutting edge. We believe Clean Water! We will know we have achieved success when it is still directionally correct. However, like the world in eel grass returns to our coastal waters. general, new data and changing inputs call into question this model’s long-term usefulness. Why? Why does a 30-year plan take 40 years to clean water? The MEP model is a “black box”, not “open source”. It is a Time-to-travel! “static” model. Yet new information is now available which is critical to our modeling approach and thus, our planning. The MEP model is used for some watersheds but not others. Currently, many watersheds have no models, while others use models developed independently. Cape Cod, the Islands, and the entire southeastern Massachusetts region need and deserve ongoing, adaptable modeling that includes the entire area. A federal agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) which does all the modeling for Long Island Sound, could do modeling for the entire region. (see box on page 3) “AI” and data processing have taken enormous steps, data inputs that heretofore took weeks or months to process can now be done in seconds. With billions of dollars of wastewater-related spending at stake we need an up-to- date and adaptive approach. 2 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | Fall/Winter 2025 BCleanWater.org

USGS Geological Survey Did you know that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is one of the top scientific research divisions of the U.S. government? A branch of the Department of the Interior, the USGS provides science- based information to the federal government and partners like BCWC. Their work includes data collection on land and water use, natural resources, and ecosystems, which helps inform decision-makers. A major portion of the USGS’s work focuses on in-depth mapping and imaging. BCWC has partnered with the USGS for over five years. They have worked with us on our Shubael Pond Enhanced Innovative Alternative (EIA) Septic System Project by drilling 80 ft. monitoring wells to measure groundwater flow and track changes. For our Marstons Mills cranberry bog eco-restoration project, the USGS installed a stream gauge monitoring station in the Marstons Mills River that collects real-time water quality data. BCleanWater.org Fall/Winter 2025 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | 3

How Models Matter in the Three Bays Estuary and Watershed The map to the right shows a portion of the Town’s three phase, 30-year sewer plan which is designed to address the state mandate to lower the nitrogen load in our watershed to improve the health of the Three Bays estuary. The Massachusetts Estuary Project (MEP) model has been the critical arbiter of the forecast success of the sewer expansion plan. While we applaud the sewer plan and all the work our town has put into the effort, we question some of the “absolutist” conclusions of the MEP model. We are told that the area in yellow, Phase 3, which is not scheduled to be completed for over two decades, must be 100% sewered for the model to indicate successful nitrogen load reduction. We have several real-world problems with this conclusion. Are we looking at the problem myopically? A new approach or new model may help us solve the problem differently. If other interventions including stormwater management and fertilizer reductions are implemented, this would reduce the required wastewater reductions. How can that be? Some of these new technologies remove 95% or One of our main issues with the more of the nitrogen load from individual homes. Wouldn’t an expanded MEP model is that incorporating treatment area accomplish the same thing as 100% in a smaller area? new Enhanced Innovative Additionally, the EIA approach treats wastewater in situ, whereas Alternative (EIA) technology municipal treatment simply moves the treated effluent to another location appears to fall short of solving with all the associated pumping costs and long-term energy commitments. the problem when compared This removal also creates recharge considerations for the aquifer. to sewer expansion. It is important to remember that the watershed ignores town boundaries, so some treatment should include Sandwich. 4 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | Fall/Winter 2025 BCleanWater.org

NEW MODELING SHOULD INCORPORATE TIME-TO-TRAVEL The map to the right shows groundwater “time-to-travel” in years. Nitrogen travels with the groundwater on Cape Cod until it reaches surface waters (bay, estuary, lake, pond or river). Approximately 1,991 homes are present in the Phase 3 area, with 1,737 of these located in the Three Bays watershed. The average age of homes in this area is over 40 years (median year built is 1977). With a Title 5 system or cesspool’s limited life, we could expect to see most of these households replace their systems over the 25-year period before the planned sewer reaches their property. If these homes upgraded to new EIA systems “time-to-travel” over this timeframe, the need for sewer might } in years be mitigated or even eliminated! More importantly, the “clean water clock” will start running decades earlier making it more likely that our estuary will survive! MONEY ALSO MATTERS The MEP model wasn’t designed to address the importance of time to travel nor the practicality of how communities pay to fix the problem. But these are major considerations. The clean-up clock is ticking, but it is hard to place a societal value on returning an estuary to a healthy status in 10 years rather than 40 years. Property values, tourism, and our overall lifestyle will all be impacted if our water quality continues to decline! Once again, a model and math may help provide the answer. Actuarial tables help us determine how long we may live and what kind of insurance we may need to provide for income in our later years. Modeling could help us determine the value of a healthy estuary now and in the future. Another important part of the equation to model is the overall cost. We tackled some of this in our last newsletter Subsidize to Equalize. Our work has shown that today a new EIA system may cost just one-third the cost of sewer. Less than a third if we incorporate the state credit of $18,000 and other potential incentives. BCleanWater.org Fall/Winter 2025 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | 5

Modeling for Wastewater Treatment in Phase 3 FASTER, CHEAPER, FAIRER. We have estimated the number of households in the Phase 3 area within the Three Bays watershed. The latest Phase 3 area includes some parcels outside of the watershed itself. Here are some of the baseline numbers: • Phase 3 encompasses 1,991 parcels. • Phase 3, Three Bays Watershed: 1,737 parcels. • The average year a house was built in the area is 1977. • For a large portion of the homes in this area, the time to travel is 10 years or less. • Connecting 1,737 homes to sewer at current prices would cost approximately $243 million. • Phase 3 starting date is likely to be in the 2040’s. The Cape’s housing crisis, a warming climate, and our wastewater clean-up mandate suggest looking at our overall problem with new urgency. Here are a few things to consider: • EIA technology can achieve a better than 95% reduction in nitrogen. • EIA technology may be 1/3 the cost of sewer expansion. • New state tax incentives of up to $18,000 enhance A different approach is to use EIA systems for EIA affordability for some homeowners. wastewater treatment while modeling potential • Data suggests that existing septic systems financial incentives to lower the cost and accelerate (cesspools and Title 5s) in the Phase 3 area will adoption. require replacement prior to sewer arrival given the age of the properties. One approach could incorporate the need for more A simplistic analysis of sewer expansion alone to housing with the ability to add an Accessory Dwelling treat household wastewater in the Phase 3 area Unit (ADU) to a property. We posit that in the Phase would indicate that the total cost in today’s dollars 3 area, 509 of the 1,737 properties could add an would be $243 million. This is using a cost $140,000 Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU see glossary, page 10) per parcel as the baseline for the 1,737 parcels based on lot size and number of bedrooms. We show in question. Individual homeowners would be these locations on the map above. responsible for paying $20,000 of the $140,000 to Based on existing water and wastewater data we can connect to the sewer. Therefore, about $35 million conclude that the best EIA technology can reduce would be shouldered by homeowners and $208 nitrogen by 95% or more and adding an ADU would million by all the town’s taxpayers. still lead to a net reduction of 80% or more. 6 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | Fall/Winter 2025 BCleanWater.org

Four-Part EIA Approach to Phase 3 Could Save $175 million ADU’s are desirable because they both add a badly needed housing unit (1-2 bedroom) and provide a potential source of income and lifestyle flexibility for today’s families. For the town, they add to assessed value, and thus the tax roll. We suggest incentivizing adoption by providing a 10 year “tax holiday” on the increase in assessed value in exchange for switching the main house and the ADU over to a new EIA at the homeowner’s expense. For the sake of our model, let’s assume that half of the potential property owners take advantage of this incentive (and possibly the state tax credit). The “cost” to the town in this case is the deferral of tax revenue based on an increase in assessed value. We model a ten-year program during which time 254 households are upgraded. We assume an ADU will add $250,000 to assessed value, which equates to a “tax holiday” of $2,200/year. Based on an average EIA cost of $46,000, here are four separate approaches to EIA rollout that when taken together, the savings equals $175 million. Four Steps to Save $175 million PART 1 PART 3 Install 254 EIAs on parcels that can build an Of the 593 parcels left to treat with EIAs, approximately ADU at a “cost” to the town of $58,000/year 308 could fall into the low-income category if we use the or $558,000 over 10 years. Barnstable County metrics of family’s earning below $75,000 ($46,000 per household. Homeowners pay full $46,000, annually. For this cohort we will assume the town pays the Town Tax Credit of approximately $2,200 per household entire $46,000 per household with the understanding that this per year for 10 years, plus potential state grant of is an oversimplification. Assume funding comes via SRF funds $18,000 = Net homeowner cost of $6,000.) or other borrowing mechanisms. $46,000 X 308 = $14,168,000 PART 2 PART 4 1,483 parcels are now left to be treated in our model. Our math indicates that 285 households remain to be addressed Our research indicates that more that 60% of these with EIA treatment, and these are all non-residents. For this qualify for a residential exemption and earn enough cohort we posit a direct payment of $16,000 (roughly the cost of money to take advantage of the new $18,000 state tax a new title 5 system) and a SRF or other borrowing mechanism credit for upgrading septic systems. We next assume for the homeowner to borrow the balance of the costs at a that each of these property owners will be asked to low interest rate for an extended term of 20 years. shoulder the same percentage for an EIA as they would for a sewer connection (14.3% or $6,578). CONCLUSION $46,000 minus $18,000 minus $6,578 = $21,422 to be Town Sewering Total EIA town financed. With 890 parcels costing $19.06 million. Phase 3 Projected Costs Direct Town Responsibility Install 890 EIAs at a cost to Town of $19,065,580 $243,180,000 $19,065,580 ($46,000 per household. Homeowners pays $6,578, ($140,000 x 1,737 total phase 3 ($21,422 x 890 Town partial subsidy) State Tax Credit of $18,000, Town subsidy of $21,422) sewering costs - $34,740,000 + $14,168,000 ($20,000 x 1,737 Homeowner costs) ($46,000 x 593 Town fully subsidized) ** To receive the full State Tax Credit, one’s income must be $208,440,000 Town responsibility $33,233,580 Town responsibility $91,000/year and one must be a resident. Median household $208,440,000 Town Phase 3 Sewer Costs income in Phase 3 area = $111,754 (61.4% of residents make -$33,233,580 Town EIA Subsidy Costs above 91,000), and residential exemptions in Phase 3 area = 1,069 $175,206,420 TOTAL ESTIMATED SAVINGS TO THE TOWN (61.54% of residents have a residential exemption) See Illustration page 10 BCleanWater.org Fall/Winter 2025 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | 7

Developing an Adaptive Plan for Highly permeable, sandy soil conditions on Cape Cod lead to wastewater-compromised groundwater throughout the peninsula. Recent regulatory changes to Title 5 by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection this past year addresses estuary Wastewater Treatment in Town protection, but do not include our freshwater ponds. Currently, the town has about 27,000 households with approximately 3,500 connected to municipal wastewater treatment. The current three phase, 30-year wastewater collection and treatment expansion plan expects to connect an additional 12,000 households. In 2018, the cost estimate was The graphic below shows some of about $1.45 billion. Costs have risen substantially since then. the components worth considering Due to the timing and location of the sewer plan, for future adaptive planning. along with the groundwater “time to travel”, Enhanced Innovative/ it is unrealistic to expect any Alternative Septic (EIA) significant water quality Municipal Wastewater improvements in our Treatment (MWT) bays for several decades. Municipal Wastewater Treatment (MWT) Enhanced Innovative Alternative Septic (EIA) Cost/Benefit Analysis Challenges Cost/Benefit Analysis • Proven technology and plan. • Effluent disposal challenge rises • Costs at 1/3 of MWT on a unit basis. • Can be modified to treat with increased volume and system • Potential to target “at risk” Contaminants of Emerging expansion. areas quickly. Concern (CECs). • Distance from MWT raises overall • Potential for town-wide adoption. • High and rising costs to build and ongoing costs. • More balanced recharge. and operate. • Recharge may be a consideration • Cost per kg of Nitrogen • Cost per kg of Nitrogen for water departments. removed = +/- $300. removed = +/- $900. • “Time-to-travel” results in slow • Unit cost of $46,000 for full new • Parcel cost $140,000, range improvement in groundwater. replacement, estimated $38,000 of $100,000-$200,000. • Costs preclude ability to address for partial replacement (keep tank • Operation and Maintenance town-wide wastewater. and/or leach field). (O&M) considerations. • Will community be willing and able • O&M considerations. to fund costs? • Betterment opportunity to lower town- wide costs and address housing needs. 8 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | Fall/Winter 2025 BCleanWater.org

Highly permeable, sandy soil conditions on Cape Cod lead to wastewater-compromised groundwater throughout the peninsula. Recent regulatory changes to Title 5 by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection this past year addresses estuary protection, but do not include our freshwater ponds. Currently, the town has about 27,000 households with approximately 3,500 connected to municipal wastewater treatment. The current three phase, 30-year wastewater collection and treatment expansion plan expects to connect an additional 12,000 households. In 2018, the cost estimate was about $1.45 billion. Costs have risen substantially since then. Due to the timing and location of the sewer plan, along with the groundwater “time to travel”, Restored it is unrealistic to expect any Cranberry Bogs significant water quality improvements in our bays for several decades. Enhanced Innovative Alternative Septic (EIA) Restored Cranberry Bogs Cost/Benefit AnalysisChallenges Cost/Benefit Analysis Challenges • Costs at 1/3 of MWT on a unit basis.• New technology.• Low cost to build and operate. • Limited scope due to limited • Potential to target “at risk” • CEC reduction? • Rapid impact given to locations. areas quickly.• Regulatory recognition.. “time-to-travel”. • New “nature-based” technology. • Potential for town-wide adoption.• Scale production and installation.• Cost per kg of Nitrogen • Need for permits, approvals, and • More balanced recharge.• Workforce training and need for removed = +/- $50. funding. • Cost per kg of Nitrogen workers (job creation). • Ancillary benefits as community • Ability to purchase bogs. removed = +/- $300.• Responsible Management Entity asset (open space, recreation, etc.). • Unit cost of $46,000 for full new (RME) need. • Cranberry bogs restored to replacement, estimated $38,000 • Lack of high-performing natural wetland habitat. for partial replacement (keep tank technology choices. and/or leach field). • O&M considerations. • Betterment opportunity to lower town- wide costs and address housing needs. BCleanWater.org Fall/Winter 2025 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | 9

Phase 3 Cost Breakdown Illustration Four Steps to Save $1.75 Million GLOSSARY HELPFUL RESOURCES Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC): CECs are chemicals and toxins Check out the that have been shown to have human health and ecological impacts. Operation and Maintenance (O&M): Manage and maintain large facilities, Town of Barnstable’s Water Resources page, including municipal wastewater treatment plant. https://BarnstableWaterResources.com Recharge: The process of water inflow into groundwater or an aquifer. for information on water quality issues, the Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan, Responsible Management Entity (RME): Agency or organization tasked with and the answers to questions like: managing decentralized wastewater infrastructure. Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU): A smaller, self-contained housing unit Am I Eligible for New Sewer Service? that can be attached or detached from a single-family home with its own How Do I Hook-Up? separate entrance. What are the Anticipated Costs? Municipal Wastewater Treatment (MWT): Sewage and wastewater from homes and businesses are collected and transported via sewers to Visit the Massachusetts Alternative Septic a municipal wastewater treatment plant where it is treated before it is System Test Center (MASSTC) website discharged back into the environment. Enhanced Innovative Alternative Septic (EIA): EIAs are onsite systems https://masstc.org for information on EIAs, that treat wastewater and remove most of the nitrogen before leaching into their Septic Utility Program (SUP!) and more. groundwater and other water bodies. 10 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | Fall/Winter 2025 BCleanWater.org

Update on the Marstons Mills Cranberry Bog Eco-Restoration Project es n el Jo ach R y to b o Ph BCWC is excited to announce recent grant awards for - An anonymous foundation has given BCWC a our Marstons Mills Cranberry Bog Eco-Restoration generous challenge grant of $800,000 to help fund Project. BCWC is restoring 64-acres of retired construction costs for the 64-acre restoration. cranberry bog property along the Marstons Mills River. Our goal is to reduce nitrogen loading to the Three - The Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration Bays estuary by restoring this site to healthy, self- awarded $540,000 to fund construction costs for sustaining, and dynamic wetlands that will naturally 10-acres of a comprehensive study area within the remove excess nitrogen and improve water quality. This 64-acre restoration site. innovative eco-restoration project is now at the “90% design and permitting” phase, which means we hope to - The Horizon Foundation is helping to fund an begin construction within the next 12 months. outdoor environmental education amphitheater overlooking the comprehensive study area with a Along with receiving a $200,000 grant from the US $15,000 grant. EPA Southeast New England Program this summer (see back cover for more details), BCWC has also received STAY TUNED FOR MORE BOG RESTORATION several other grants: UPDATES IN THE NEXT NEWSLETTER! BCleanWater.org Fall/Winter 2025 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | 11

The Water Column by Luke Cadrin If you live on Cape Cod, you probably know about Nitrogen and the state and towns’ efforts (and price tag) to reduce nitrogen pollution in our environment. You may also have heard about the negative effects of nitrogen pollution on our local waters and the strategies to combat this nutrient overload. However, if you’re like me and struggled through chemistry class, then you may still be wondering what exactly is Nitrogen and what’s the big deal? Here are some of the basics: Nitrogen (N) cycles through our atmospheric, 5. Denitrification: In anaerobic (lack of oxygen) terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems and is conditions, like waterlogged soil, certain bacteria a necessary building block for life. Most of the N convert nitrates BACK to N gas, allowing the cycle cycle is facilitated by bacteria and cyanobacteria, to begin again. (This is the process happening converting N into biologically available forms and in your Enhanced Innovative Alternative septic back again. This process consists of 5 steps: systems) 1. Fixation: Converting N gas (N ) into biologically 2 - available types of N like nitrates (NO ), nitrites - 3 (NO ) and ammonia (NH ). Most N is “fixed” by 2 3 bacteria, but some is “fixed” by lightning strikes. 2. Nitrification: Bacteria convert ammonium to nitrates or nitrites (the process happening in your Title-5 septic system). Due to their high solubility, much of this leaves the soil and dissolves in the groundwater. 3. Assimilation: Plants can then absorb N + as ammonium (NH ) 4 or nitrate through their roots and create organic forms of N such as amino acids. Animals then consume plants and N cycles through the organisms in an ecosystem. 4. Ammonification: When a plant or animal dies or expels waste, the organic forms of N are broken down back into ammonium by bacteria and fungi in the soil. 12 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | Fall/Winter 2025 BCleanWater.org

Most N occurs naturally as a harmless gas that makes up around 78% of our atmosphere. However, this gas is not available to most living things. This leads to a scarcity of available N in most ecosystems making it a “limiting nutrient”. Basically, of all the building blocks for life in an ecosystem, like carbon and oxygen, the least available is N, which dictates how productive an ecosystem can be. For example, with an abundance of sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and other minerals, plants could grow exponentially. However, the amount of N in the system creates a threshold for growth. While there are some exceptions (in freshwater ecosystems, the limiting nutrient is usually phosphorus, but that’s a conversation for another day), N is typically the “limiting nutrient” for most of the earth’s Luke Cadrin ecosystems. What’s the problem here, you might ask? Our septic tanks leach wastewater relatively deep into the aquifer, where many of the denitrifying bacteria N is a crucial element that cycles through our do not live, effectively bypassing part of the cycle and ecosystems. Why all the time, effort, and money to sending nitrate-loaded groundwater directly to our get rid of it? forests, ponds, wetlands, and bays. When this happens, the limiting factor for growth is no longer so limiting. Well, humans have globally and locally altered the N cycle. Through industrial production and use of Unencumbered growth of algae and plants occurs, fertilizers, we have increased the amount of “fixed” they compete with one another, then die off and or bioavailable N ten-fold. Since 1970, the global decompose. These effects are drastically changing our population has increased by 78% and reactive N ecosystems: resulting in loss of diversity and resiliency, 1 creation has increased by 120%. The denitrification increasing harmful algal blooms, and more. process does not have the capacity to keep up with the rate we are adding N. This is why the shallow waters and near shore beaches of our estuary are now “muck” instead of sand! Most food we eat on Cape Cod doesn’t originate here or use the locally available N. It was most likely 1 James N. Galloway, Alan R. Townsend, Jan Willem Erisman, farmed using industrial fertilizer containing N and Mateete Bekunda, Zucong Cai, John R. Freney, Luiz A. then shipped here. We consume the excess N, and it Martinelli, Sybil P. Seitzinger, Mark A. Sutton. 16 May 2008. goes straight into our waste. This waste ends up in Transformation of the Nitrogen Cycle: Recent Trends, our septic systems and flows into the groundwater. Questions, and Potential Solutions. Vol 320 SCIENCE. BCleanWater.org Fall/Winter 2025 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | 13

BCWC Welcomes New AmeriCorps Service Member and Barnstable High School Intern AmeriCorps Member Spotlight: Barnstable High School Intern Spotlight: Tom Bedard Lucas Tadim Tom is a 26-year-old AmeriCorps member who A senior in Barnstable High School’s will be spending the next 10 months serving with Environmental Science & Technology pathway Barnstable Clean Water Coalition. He is from program, Lucas grew up and lives in Hyannis nearby Fairhaven and recently graduated from with his mom. He is always trying to find a way the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with to get involved and give back to the community. a bachelor’s degree in biology and concentration This includes Lucas’s work with Best Buddies and in marine sciences. Tom wanted to serve with the Community Empowerment and Leadership BCWC given his academic background and life Club, which involves helping people with special experiences around water that inspired him to needs, along with raising money for the homeless take a step further and put all that knowledge community and local food banks. He was to use to help the community. He looks forward interested in interning at BCWC as another way to serving with BCWC to improve local waters to help the local community and environment. and help keep those waters clean for future Lucas plans on attending Florida Atlantic generations to come. Tom hopes to use the University next fall where he will major in experience he gains from BCWC and AmeriCorps computer science. When not working at a local to work on conserving habitats ranging from restaurant to save money for college, marshlands to forests. In his free time, Tom enjoys he enjoys playing video games in his free time. spending time with his family and three dogs. 14 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | Fall/Winter 2025 BCleanWater.org

Golfing and Shucking for Clean Water It was a great day on the links at the Hyannisport Club on October 21st for BCWC’s 4th Annual Clean Water Challenge golf tournament. The weather was perfect, the view was stunning, and the golfers enjoyed the spirited competition and fun. Thank you to the golfers, sponsors and donors who raised funds to ensure BCWC has the resources needed to continue our work for clean water for all. After two years of torrential rain, the sun made an appearance again at the 7th Annual Shuck! Oyster Festival at Cape Cod Beer on October 5th. It was a fun day with a great crowd who enjoyed freshly shucked oysters and pints of delicious Cape Cod Beer, music and more. Thanks to everyone who made this an amazing day, especially the hardworking BCWC volunteers and Cape Cod Beer Brew Crew. A special thank you to Beth and Todd Marcus for their continued generosity and support of BCWC. BCleanWater.org Fall/Winter 2025 | Barnstable Clean Water Coalition | 15

Non-Profit Org. Barnstable P.O. Box 215 U.S. Postage Osterville, MA 02655 PAID CLEANWATER 508-420-0780 Permit No. 58 Coalition Hyannis, MA BCleanWater.org Mission Statement Barnstable Clean Water Coalition works to restore and preserve clean water in Barnstable. BCWC utilizes science as its foundation to educate, monitor, mitigate and advocate for clean water. Board of Directors US EPA Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Announces Michael Egan, President the Massachusetts Recipients of SNEP Watershed John G. Kassakian, Vice President Implementation Grants (SWIG) for 2024 Laureen Pfizenmaier, Treasurer Mark C. Curley, Clerk Jack Ahern On Oct. 4th, the Town of Yarmouth Edward M. Crosby, Jr. hosted an event to announce the 2024 SWIG grant funding in Travis Cundiff Massachusetts. BCWC is one of the Hazel Durand five MA SWIG grant awardees for John T. Fallon, Jr. our Marstons Mills Experimental N. David Samra Cranberry Bog Restoration Project. Dan Schwinn This project will restore a former bog to wetlands to test and analyze Staff which restoration methods will Zenas Crocker remove the most nitrogen from Executive Director surface waters in the most cost- effective way. Heather Rockwell Director of Operations Luke Cadrin Left to Right: Caleb White of the Field Operations Manager OfÏce of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Representative Bill Keating, and BCWC Christy Laidlaw Executive Director Zee Crocker Development Associate Michelle Motley Data Scientist/Ecological Restoration Manager Donate by mail: Donate online at: BCWC Susie Perry, Graphic Designer BCleanWater.org P.O. Box 215 Osterville, MA 02655 Printed on 30% recycled paper.