Eric Turkington, chairman of Falmouth’s Water Quality Management Team, waits at Town Hall for election results this week.
FALMOUTH – At the Falmouth town election this week, voters approved a $50 million project to clean up the first of the town’s estuaries.
Eric Turkington, chairman of Falmouth’s Water Quality Management Committee, said voters spoke loud and clear that they wanted the project to go forward.
“It’s a lot of money and it’s a big commitment. Falmouth came through,” he said.
The ballot questions passed by a margin of 55 percent in favor and 45 percent opposed.
“It says that people want to clean up these estuaries and they heard us when we said that it is a complicated thing and it’s an expensive thing but this is the best way to do it,” Turkington said.
The project involves installing sewers around Little Pond in Teaticket, which is considered Falmouth’s most polluted estuary.
Selectman Kevin Murphy is among those waiting for election results at Falmouth Town Hall Tuesday night.
Turkington said he did not know how the vote would turn out. “You’re never confident going into this. You make your best pitch. You put the pieces in place that you think will make it work for people. But you don’t know how much they understand or how much they really want to do it,” he said.
Besides sewering, the plan includes two innovative alternatives to cleaning up pollution: aquaculture and widening the inlet in Bournes Pond.
A small crowd, including candidate for selectman Marc Finneran, waits for election results Tuesday night at Falmouth Town Hall.
Other alternatives are also being considered, according to officials.
