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Saturday, January 22, 2022

'Things are worse': Cape Cod water quality is declining, says environmental group's report

 

'Things are worse': Cape Cod water quality is declining, says environmental group's report


Doug /Fraser Cape Cod Times 
Published Jan 11, 2022 

The Association to Preserve Cape Cod has released its third annual State of the Waters report, which evaluates water quality in the Cape's ponds and lakes, bays and drinking water supplies.

What it found is no surprise: continued degradation of both marine and freshwater water quality, as well as issues with two municipal drinking water systems.

The report noted that, for the first time, none of the 21 marine bays and estuaries the APCC monitors along the Cape's south-facing shoreline had acceptable water quality. For the Cape as a whole, only six of 47 bays and estuaries were rated as having acceptable water quality, while 41, or 87%, received a grading of unacceptable. Last year's report had 38 receiving a failing grade, or 79%, and in the 2019 report, 68% failed.

Barnstable Harbor and Quivett Creek, on the Brewster-Dennis line, were newly identified in the report as having unacceptable water quality.

Ripples in the sand are exposed just after low tide Monday near the mouth of Quivett Creek, which was designated in a new report as having unacceptable water quality. The creek includes a large marsh area and is the waterway of the annual herring run to headwaters at Bound Brook.

'Reason to be optimistic'

"Things are worse, from an objective measurement perspective," said Andrew Gottlieb, APCC executive director. "But, with the significant rise in (planning, funding, and building) municipal treatment plants there is reason to be optimistic that while there are residual contaminants (in groundwater) ... steps to address the problem are being taken."

Gottlieb and his organization urged municipalities to take advantage of the $1 billion from the federal $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that will go into the State Revolving Fund managed by the Massachusetts Cleanwater Trust and the Department of Environmental Protection. That money will be made available over the next five years and the feds mandate that 49% of the money goes toward loan forgiveness and 51% to support loans for drinking water and wastewater projects.





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