Shubael Pond
BARNSTABLE – The Barnstable Clean Water Coalition broke ground on its Shubael Pond Innovative/Alternative (I/A) septic system project Tuesday.
The project is one of several across the region looking to expand wastewater infrastructure to help cut down on nitrogen pollution in the local ecosystem.
Fifteen septic systems will be installed as part of the project provisionally approved by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
Coalition representatives said that the NitROE septic systems can achieve a 95 percent reduction in nitrogen.
“The large-scale use of enhanced I/A systems is absolutely critical in addressing Cape Cod’s water quality problems,” said BCWC Executive Director Zenas Crocker in a statement.
“The majority of Cape Cod will never see municipal sewage treatment or won’t see it for decades. Advancing enhanced I/A systems to General Use Approval from MassDEP will allow for their widespread use to protect our bays, ponds, rivers and drinking water.”
Crocker said that the NitROE system is power loss fail-safe—still functioning as a Title V septic system even in the absence of power, as well as being relatively simple in design.
The coalition also said that the system can be retrofitted to existing TITLE V septic systems, lower the costs when compared to building an entirely new system.
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