Special Reports from OPC and APCC on two major Fresh Water programs in Orleans
Your Voice is Needed to Help Secure Funds to Improve Water Quality on Cape Cod!
You may have seen Legislation in the news this month outlining approval of a new bill called the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) providing Barnstable County with $41.3 million in grant federal funds. “Cape Cod has a tremendous opportunity to utilize (these) American Rescue Plan Act funds to make progress in key areas for our region, including protecting our water, investing in sewering and nitrogen reduction efforts, and expanding access to broadband internet,” said Barnstable County Commissioners Ron Bergstrom, Mark Forest, and Sheila Lyons.
To that end, Orleans has developed and is working toward full implementation of a Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan to protect and improve our waters. But more funding is needed to reduce the tax burden of implementing this Plan. Water quality improvements including investments in wastewater infrastructure is one of the eligible categories where ARPA funding is possible.
The Barnstable County Commissioners are currently seeking public input on how best to allocate the county’s ARPA funds and have created an online survey for that purpose. Please take a moment to fill out this quick survey and let the County Commissioners know that improving water quality, including investments in wastewater infrastructure, is a high priority for Orleans and should be at the top of the list for allocation of the ARPA funding. Our waterways define Orleans and Cape Cod. Keeping these clean and healthy is such an important priority.
For more information on other ways to provide your feedback on the ARPA funding, visit the County’s website. The public comment period ends February 4, 2022.
The Reports are In
Two major reports for the Orleans Pond Coalition and the Association to Preserve Cape Cod were published recently concerning their Fresh Water projects in Orleans.
2021 OPC Oxygenation Project Summary
The Orleans Pond Coalition has been sponsoring a multiyear pond remediation research program at Sarah’s Pond we call the Oxygen Demonstration Project.
The primary goal of our Oxygenation Demonstration Project is to determine if a more sustainable alternative to current remediation methods exists. Overall, we made good progress this past year, showing there is exciting potential for this new technology but much more is still needed to demonstrate success. The attached report from our consulting technical advisor, Dr Ken Wagner, Water Resource Services, summarizes the detailed research data and learning for this 2021 season. We encourage all to review it, especially those who seek a deeper understanding of this emerging new technology, commonly know as Side Stream Saturation (SSS) and now called by the inventor, Dr Paul Gantzer, Oxygen Saturation Technology (OST).
2021 APCC Cyanobacteria Monitoring Report for:
Bakers, Ice House, and Uncle Harvey’s Ponds, and Crystal and Pilgrim Lakes in Orleans, MA
OPC partnered with APCC to add four freshwater ponds and lakes to their cyanobacteria monitoring program in 2021. The four Orleans ponds and lakes–Ice House and Uncle Harvey’s ponds, and Crystal and Pilgrim lakes were sampled by OPC board members and volunteers. Bakers Pond was also monitored, through a partnership with the Brewster Ponds Coalition (BPC). The season long program involved biweekly sampling from May to October with analytics and testing provided by APCC. The goal of this monitoring is to track and predict the formation of harmful cyanobacteria blooms (HCBs) and expected toxins. In 2021, Ice House and Uncle Harvey’s ponds and Crystal Lake were in the Low Warning Tier for the entirety of the season. Pilgrim Lake was in the Low and Moderate Warning Tiers during the season. Bakers Pond was in the Low and High Warning Tiers during the season. Over the course of the monitoring season, APCC recommended temporary use restrictions in Bakers Pond due to cyanobacteria concerns. APCC shared all of their monitoring analytical results with OPC, the town, and the public throughout the season culminating with a season ending report. The report issued by APCC summarizes the 2021 cyanobacteria monitoring results for the ponds listed above. We thank APCC for its support through the season.
OPC remains committed to its mission – and will remain a strong voice in Orleans to preserve and protect the health of our shared watersheds, estuaries, ponds and lakes. Thank you for your membership and interest.