Under the Lens by Elise Hugus
| Share | Print
Archive for the ‘Sewering’ Category
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
Green Pond, Bournes Pond, and Eel Pond in East Falmouth
A week after a day-long symposium on the potential for outfall pipes to handle the Cape’s wastewater problem, I’ve finally figured out what’s been bothering me.
It seems that wastewater managers and engineers, in their infinite wisdom, operate according to the “if it can be complicated, why make it simple?” ethic.
The speakers at the ocean outfall forum did not mince words: it would take no less than an amendment to three state acts protecting marine resources—not to mention, years of study and millions of dollars— for an outfall pipe to be constructed on these shores.
They were less candid about the probable impacts on the environment— and were subtle about the whole reason for entertaining the idea of an ocean outfall: it’s cheaper than the only other “approved” method of disposing of wastewater. (more…)
Tags: aquaculture, cape cod, Climate Change, composting toilets, Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan, ocean outfall, sustainability, urine diverting toilets, Wastewater, water reuse
Posted in Sewering, sustainable solutions, Wastewater | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
Are we flushing money down the toilet?
As someone who goes to a fair share of wastewater-related meetings, I wasn’t expecting to be blown away at last weekend’s Eco-Toilet Summit.
On a conceptual level, I felt I already understood the basics of composting human waste— hey, I do it every day with food scraps.
Adding one step through my digestive system to my garden seemed to make sense… from a theoretical point of view.
But after hearing about the range of eco-toilet options available, and a variety of perspectives from regular residents, the theoretical became possible.
What stopped making sense is the way we use—and view—the bathroom.
(more…)
Tags: cape cod, composting toilets, Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan, Earle Barnhart, Eco-Toilet Summit, Falmouth Climate Action Team, Falmouth MA, fertilizer, Hilde Maingay, Matt Patrick, nitrogen, packaging toilets, sustainability, The Green Center, urine diverting toilets, Wastewater
Posted in Agriculture, Alternative toilets, Sewering, sustainable solutions, Wastewater | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
A typical urine-diverting toilet collects solid and liquid waste, which could be processed into fertilizer, removing nitrogen from the waste stream
Considering that we all flush at least three times a day, it’s surprising how little we know about where our waste goes. Into a white bowl and then down a pipe— never to be seen, smelled, or thought of again.
But as many Cape Codders are beginning to realize, that’s not really the case. The by-products of our waste are seeping out of underground septic systems and into the groundwater, flowing finally into coastal ponds. The nutrients are harmless by themselves, but in concentrated form, throw off the ecological balance of sensitive estuarine systems.
Though there are many nutrients and “contaminants of concern” to be worried about, nitrogen is known as the culprit for changing pristine harbors into algae-filled swamps, devoid of marine life. Or so we fear. (more…)
Tags: aquaculture, cape cod, composting toilets, Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan, contaminants of concern, David Dow, Diane Murphy, fertilizer, George Heufelder, gray water, John Ramsey, Michael Giggey, Nitrex, nitrogen, permeable membrane reactors (PRB), Rick York, Ron Zweig, Sewering, shellfish, urine diverting toilets, Wastewater, water reuse
Posted in Sewering, sustainable solutions, Wastewater | 4 Comments »
Friday, December 24th, 2010
Discussion at a Falmouth Board of Health meeting over a proposed nutrient management bylaw–likely to be on the April town meeting warrant–sparked an important exchange between a lawyer who tends to represent homeowners and builders and a board concerned that a sewer system will encourage development, thus increasing the town’s nitrogen load. (more…)
Tags: cape cod, composting toilets, Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan, Earle Barnhart, Falmouth, Hilde Maingay, nitrogen, Sewering
Posted in Sewering, sustainable solutions, Wastewater | No Comments »
Friday, December 3rd, 2010
Most people, when they think about Cape Cod, think about seafood. But very little of the shellfish we consume actually come from local waters! After decades of decline, the local shellfish industry is woefully underdeveloped, while overfishing and over-development of waterfront housing has caused the downfall of a once-fertile industry.
Given that its now easier to find oysters from Duxbury and mussels from Prince Edward Island than it is to get locally-sourced seafood, this locovore’s dilemma begs the question: which came first? The shellfish or the septic system? The problem or the solution?
(more…)
Tags: aesthetic costs, aquaculture, commercial fisheries, composting toilets, eel grass, Falmouth estuary, fertilizer, Marine Policy Center, nitrogen, Ron Zweig, sequestration, Sewering, shellfish, TMDL, Wastewater, WHOI
Posted in fisheries, Sewering, sustainable solutions, Wastewater | 6 Comments »
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
A view of West Falmouth Harbor
Earlier this month, the Coalition for Buzzards Bay went public with information about the performance of Falmouth’s wastewater management facility. Had not they not requested this information from the DEP, we would not have known that elevated nitrogen levels are being discharged from the facility to West Falmouth Harbor. This is the kind of oversight that the media and environmental watchdogs will have to do in order to ensure that nitrogen limits are being met, no matter which wastewater treatment route is taken in the future.
(more…)
Posted in Sewering, Wastewater | 1 Comment »
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
A question from Ric Gerace, Alma Road, Falmouth:
High tide flooding covers Menauhant Road
I would like to know why, in all the discussion on the half-billion dollar sewer project, there has been not one word on global warming and sea level rise. There is no question that the sea level is rising, and this century it is likely to rise sufficiently to make the health of the coastal ponds a moot question. … It seems to me that spending that much money to protect ponds that will soon enough be part of the Atlantic is a huge waste of resources.
(more…)
Tags: Climate Change, Coastal Resources Working Group, Coastal Zone Management, global warming, IPCC, Rob Thieler, sea level rise, Sewering
Posted in Climate Change, Request for ideas, sea level rise, Sewering, Wastewater | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
As coastal towns in Massachusetts work out ways to deal with their wastewater, jumping through regulatory hoops often precludes thinking outside the box.
While we have to take the issue of nitrogen (and other nutrient) pollution seriously, we also need to examine the unintended consequences of sewering the entire coast. What impact will pumping and discharging millions of gallons of water have on the aquifer, not to mention, on CO2 levels in the atmosphere? What are some ways we as residents can reduce our nitrogen output on an individual scale?
(more…)
Tags: Aqua Tex, Denis LeBlanc, discharge, Ed Clerico, Eric Davidson, Falmouth Friendly Lawns, fertilizer, gray water, meat, nitrogen, outfall pipe, Patrick Lucey, Sagamore Lens, Sewering, Todd Ecological Design, Wastewater, water reuse, Woods Hole Research Center
Posted in Climate Change, Sewering, Wastewater | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
George Chapman, a resident of East Falmouth, responded to my request for questions about wastewater issues. He brings up the cost of sewering, deemed by many as the greatest unfunded state mandate in history. How can residents get involved to make sure their tax dollars (and betterment fees) are being spent wisely? (more…)
Posted in Sewering, Wastewater | 13 Comments »
