Algae bloom reported at Wakeby Pond in Mashpee earlier this year. Association to Preserve Cape Cod photo.
MASHPEE – A town election in Mashpee has approved a wastewater treatment system to benefit Mashpee Wakeby Pond.
Town meeting had previously approved the borrowing of about $26 million for the new system to be constructed on Gunters Lane.
The project will also clean up Popponesset Bay.
Association to Preserve Cape Cod executive director Andrew Gottlieb commented on the wastewater system approval by saying, “The people of Cape Cod are committed to improving our environment and want better water quality. Local government officials should be commended and appreciated for developing and presenting projects to their voters.”
He called Wakeby Pond “a majestic waterway severely degraded by excess phosphorus”.
Gottlieb added, “While great for Mashpee Wakeby, this project has much larger implications for broader nutrient management in ponds across the Cape. We now have a blueprint towns can follow to fit pond management into their overall nutrient reduction strategies that currently emphasize estuarine water quality over ponds.”
The treatment system will reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in the wastewater of over 200 homes. Septic systems will be removed and the homes within the project area will be connected to the system by sewer pipes.
By Jim McCabe, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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