OSTERVILLE – The Barnstable Clean Water Coalition held a public meeting this week to learn more about a field assessment of the Three Bays watershed that was completed this year.
Members of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) and the Horsley Witten Group also attended the meeting.
Participants also had a chance to provide their input on the proposed site for construction of storm water treatment installations.
“There’s really no one single bullet solution to the problems in our estuaries, ponds and streams, it’s going to be a number of different things, so working on storm water is critical, it’s critical for everyone to know that,” said Coalition Executive Director Zenas Crocker.
The three-year project will help clean up the Three Bays watershed through improved storm water management.
The meeting is timely considering the recent widespread shellfish bed closures during heavy rains.
The APCC is using the closures as an opportunity to call for more effective storm water management practices.
The three groups, along with the Town of Barnstable, completed the assessment that identifies sites where installation of green infrastructure storm water treatment systems could help to address the problem.
“These were the ones that we found that when working with the consultants looked like they were the most impactful, most potentially important, and also the areas that would have the greatest public recognition,” said Crocker.
The low impact designs, which incorporate the use of plants, works to capture rain water and remove nitrogen, bacteria and other pollutants before they wash into the bays.
An initial prioritization of sites has been completed and two or more of the projects will be constructed.
By JUSTIN SAUNDERS, CapeCod.com Newscenter
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