Cape Cod Wastewater Forum scheduled for this Saturday in Mashpee

"Rethinking Sewers on Cape Cod: Better, Faster, Cheaper Alternatives"

On Saturday, December 5th, 2009, from 9am to 4pm a Cape Cod Wastewater Forum will be held at the Mashpee Senior Center.  The forum is co-sponsored by  Representative Matt Patrick, the Clean Water Action & Clean Water Fund, the Coalition for Alternative Wastewater Treatment and the Cape Cod Clean Water Coalition for Cost Effective Alternatives.

The program will focus on alternatives to sewers on Cape Cod.

According to the sponsors of the forum:

The projected costs of sewers are staggering for Cape towns, so it is important to take a more careful look at the alternatives. Conventional sewers are very expensive, but also have adverse consequences, such as disruptions in water hydrology and uncontrolled growth and development.They are also projected to take twenty to thirty years to achieve their goals of removing nitrogen from the estuaries and embayments of Cape Cod.

We will be exploring how cluster systems, in particular, can offer superior alternatives to sewers on the Cape. Cluster systems can meet the performance requirements of the nitrogen TMDL's and also be substantially cheaper than sewers. They can be installed in "hot spots" and show faster recovery in the estuaries.

That's a win for the homeowner and a win for the environment.

This workshop will provide Cape Cod residents and town leadership with more information about how cluster systems in other states have been working. We'll also show how comprehensive wastewater management planning should include the full range of financial, environmental, and community concerns.

We'll hear how other communities have dealt with growth and development concerns, how decentralized alternatives can meet the TMDL requirements for Cape Cod, and how towns might consider integrated planning of water, energy, and solid waste management to achieve cost-savings.

Other parts of the country are proceeding with "21st Century" technologies and designs, and Massachusetts' engineering firms appear  not to have paid enough attention to that progress. This workshop proposes to begin to fill that information gap and provide Cape Cod towns with "Better, Faster, Cheaper" alternatives.

The program will begin with a welcome from Representative Matt Patrick. Speakers include Jim Kreissl, retired EPA; Craig Goodwin, Northwest Cascade (National, HQ in Washington State); Mary Clark, Orenco Systems, Inc. (National, HQ in Oregon) and Craig Lindell, Aquapoint (National, HQ in New Bedford) among others.

The forum is free and open to the public.

The Mashpee Senior Center is located at 26 Frank Hicks Drive in Mashpee.

Release courtesy of Clean Water Action.