News Archive
Falmouth Enterprise – May 24, 2024
Two Birds With One Tiny House - Editorial
The town is facing two major problems, and the solution to one often exacerbates the other: wastewater and affordable housing. Unless a development is on the town sewer, opposition to affordable housing (whatever other motives may be in play) can legitimately be grounded in the fact that more toilets will further degrade our coastal ponds.
But a possible route to increasing rental housing stock without environmental damage exists: tiny houses and accessory dwelling units with urine-diverting toilets.
See full editorial at:
https://www.capenews.net/falmouth/eedition/page-f4/page_8551cd16-c087-548e-9b94-2ec066548c8d.html
Falmouth Enterprise - May 24, 2024
Falmouth Moves Forward With Study To Answer Questions About Urine Diversion Pilot
The select board this week approved an agreement with the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center for a urine diversion feasibility study.
The study aims to provide answers to questions Town Meeting voters had about a urine-diversion pilot project, when they decided not to approve it last month. The four-year pilot project would gather data from up to 75 participating households to measure the effectiveness of the practice.
See full article at:
https://www.capenews.net/falmouth/eedition/page-f1/page_21fa3b31-fdd6-5c95-b49a-00c3c4ebdca2.html
Town’s Freshwater Ponds Get A Vote Of Support – Letter -- April 26, 2024
It was fitting that this past Monday, Earth Day, the select board approved six candidates for the newly established Freshwater Ponds Advisory Committee. Their votes represented a major milestone and expression of support for Falmouth’s 75+ freshwater ponds.
The committee will help raise awareness of the importance of protecting our freshwater ponds and will work with our town manager and select board to integrate pond protection strategies into Falmouth’s strategic plan. By doing so, the committee will help affirm the responsibility of the town government to actively engage in freshwater pond protection.
Kim Comart
Strand Way
East Falmouth
See full letter at: https://www.capenews.net/falmouth/opinion/town-s-freshwater-ponds-get-a-vote-of-support---letter/article_ff2b0456-cf9c-5eda-948f-eaad68533a12.html
Falmouth Enterprise - April 26, 2024
Falmouth Adopts Resolution Recognizing The Rights Of Nature
The select board this week made Falmouth the first community on the Cape and one of only a half-dozen municipalities in the nation to adopt a resolution recognizing that humanity is a part of nature, is responsible for nature’s care and should recognize nature as having the right to exist, persist, regenerate and be restored.
The resolution acknowledges Cape Cod’s unique landscapes—from its coastlines to its aquifer—and establishes the global climate change problem and an ever-increasing need to address the crisis.
See full article at: https://www.capenews.net/falmouth/news/falmouth-adopts-resolution-recognizing-the-rights-of-nature/article_ee5cf63e-1269-54ee-9a7b-1bce3bb5e2b1.html
Falmouth Enterprise - March 15, 2024
Town Management Takes Reins On Urine-Diversion Project
Falmouth town staff are working to resolve questions hanging over a proposed urine-diversion pilot project after the finance committee last week said it would recommend indefinite postponement of the idea at April’s Town Meeting.The plan is to bring the article back with all questions answered by the November Town Meeting.
Town manager Michael Renshaw told the select board during its meeting on Monday, March 11, that staff began meeting with Article 22 petitioners—Hilda Maingay, Earle Barnhart and members of the Falmouth Pond Coalition—after the finance committee said it had many unanswered questions concerning the program. Committee members generally said they supported the premise of the article, but they needed their questions answered. Mr. Renshaw said he and the assistant town manager plan to take the lead on making sure that all the details of the project come together for November’s Town Meeting.
See full article at: https://www.capenews.net/falmouth/news/town-management-takes-reins-on-urine-diversion-project/article_f8ef711b-731a-521d-97b1-3ecd4a031d70.html.
Falmouth Enterprise - Feb 9, 2024
Falmouth Water Quality Committee Endorses Urine-Diversion Pilot
The water quality management committee officially recommended that the select board support a citizens petition article that would fund a urine-diversion pilot project. The committee and its partners have been planning this pilot for months, and Town Meeting members will vote on whether to appropriate $1.9 million for the project in April.
See full article at:
Falmouth Enterprise - Feb 2, 2024
By Hilda Maingay and Earle Barnhart
Most of the nitrogen and phosphorus in our wastewater that pollutes our ponds and estuaries comes from one concentrated source: urine. A full 80 percent of the nitrogen in the wastewater is from urine, but urine is only 1 percent of the volume of residential wastewater—120 gallons per person per year. If that urine is diverted from the waste stream and collected, it will not go into the environment and pollute downstream ponds and estuaries. But if Falmouth does a urine-diversion pilot project and diverts the urine of 100 people from 50 homes, the question arises, “What do you do with that urine?”
See full atticle at: https://www.capenews.net/falmouth/columns/putting-urine-to-work-for-us/article_b967ca90-5a8d-57de-94cc-7eef9655d947.html
Falmouth Enterprise - Feb 1, 2024
Falmouth Select Board Creates Committee To Champion Town's Fresh Water Ponds
The Select Board voted this week to create a new freshwater ponds advisory committee, tasked with finding solutions to pollution that is stifling freshwater quality across Falmouth.
This committee will be the first of its kind in protecting the town’s freshwater ponds. Town Manager Michael Renshaw suggested the select board appoint five committee members when it interviews prospective candidates at a future meeting. The board will vote on committee members once residents have had the opportunity to see the advertisements and apply to volunteer.
See full atticle at:
Falmouth Enterprise - Jan. 26, 2024
APCC: Water Quality In Cape Bays, Ponds Remained Poor In 2023
The Association to Preserve Cape Cod has released its annual State of the Waters report, a wide-ranging study of water quality across the Cape, and the results are mixed. The quality of public drinking water is generally good, but the percentage of coastal embayments and freshwater ponds with poor water quality in 2023 remained steady from the previous year, when the association listed 90 percent of bays and roughly 40 percent of ponds as “unacceptable.”
Falmouth Enterprise - Jan. 25, 2024
Ashumet Pond Worst In State PFAS Report
Ashumet Pond had the highest concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in surface waters and fish tissue of any of the 52 water bodies tested in the state. Those facts were reported in December by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
Falmouth Enterprise - Dec. 8, 2023
New Falmouth Freshwater Committee In The Works
Falmouth residents are working on getting the select board to set up an advisory committee dedicated to freshwater pond, river and stream health.
Falmouth Enterprise - Dec. 8, 2023
Urine Diversion Pilot Planning Continues In Falmouth
Urine-diversion advocates and water quality management committee members have spent the last two Wednesdays at town hall making progress planning for the urine-diversion pilot project. Committee and audience members at times disagreed on how the pilot should operate.
Falmouth Enterprise - Nov 9, 2023
Board Earmarks Funds For Urine-Diversion Pilot Program
The Select Board this week voted to allocate $80,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to support education and outreach that will lay the groundwork for a four-year urine-diversion pilot project in town. Anyone interested in possibly participating in the pilot program can send an email to falmouthudstudy@gmail.com or call 617-548-6442.
Falmouth Enterprise - Sept. 29, 2023
When Bill Hough called me and asked me to start writing this column more than a dozen years ago, there was never any discussion of subject matter. He simply wanted me to be a voice in the community, the town’s unofficial storyteller that I’ve tried to be over the years. I’ve written on triumph and tragedy, on local legends and regular citizens who take time to make a better tomorrow in many different ways. During that first conversation, I could not have conceived that someday I would be writing about pee, but here we are.
Falmouth Enterprise - Sept. 25, 2023
Pond Coalition To Host Educational Forum
Founded in 2022, with a mission to protect and preserve Falmouth’s freshwater ponds through “organizing, partnership and education,” the Falmouth Pond Coalition is hosting its first educational forum on Tuesday, October 17, from 5:30 to 8:30 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House at 840 Sandwich Road in East Falmouth.
Falmouth Enterprise - Sept. 15, 2023
Water Quality Is 'Moderate' In Falmouth's Freshwater Ponds
A survey of water quality in 28 of Falmouth’s freshwater ponds last year found that the ponds are in “reasonable shape,” Woodwell Climate Research Center scientist Christopher Neill said. However, he continued, action should be taken to prevent the ponds from continuing the transition from a clear water state to a nutrient-enriched state, which can cause low-oxygen conditions and toxic algae blooms.
The pond survey was coordinated by the Falmouth Water Stewards. Dr. Neill and a fleet of volunteers sampled 28 of Falmouth’s freshwater ponds twice last year: once in the summer, and once in the winter. All the summer samples were taken on the same day, as were all the winter samples. The samples were analyzed to determine levels of nitrate (the most mobile form of nitrogen), phosphate (the most mobile form of phosphorus), and chlorophyll (the best indicator of algae abundance).
Falmouth Enterprise - Sep 14, 2023
Phosphorus And Nitrogen Together Are Impacting Freshwater Ponds In Falmouth
The conventional wisdom among scientists for the past few years has been that nitrogen drives algae production in saltwater, and phosphorus drives algae production in freshwater. However, according to Woodwell Climate Research Center scientist Christopher Neill, it turns out that the combination of nitrogen and phosphorus, not phosphorus alone, is the primary driver of algae production in freshwater ponds.
Falmouth Enterprise - Sep 8, 2023
Get Going Now – Letter to the Editor
Last week the Water Quality Management Committee (WQMC) was presented with a proposal for a urine-diversion (UD) pilot project. Brian Baumgaertel, director of the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center (MASSTC) wastewater division, provided details and cost estimates for the installation, monitoring and analysis of urine-diverting appliances in Falmouth. The WQMC has recognized that urine diversion—separating urine before it enters the septic system—is effective for reducing nitrogen input to our groundwater. The proposal spans about three years, a timeframe for the evaluation of I/A systems that the Massachusetts DEP regards as necessary to conform to testing standards.
Falmouth Enterprise - Sept. 1, 2023
Falmouth Is Losing Eelgrass. An Expert Explains Why That Matters
Eelgrass has many ecological virtues. Its tall, slender blades and strong roots sequester carbon, shelter young fish, make oxygen and clean the water column. But nitrogen pollution has been killing eelgrass in Falmouth’s estuaries for decades, so long that many people no longer know what healthy waters look like. Matthew H. Long, a marine chemist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, took time on a recent Tuesday to explain why eelgrass is so important and what its absence means for Falmouth.
Falmouth Enterprise - Sept. 1, 2023
Falmouth Water Quality Committee Moving Forward on Ocean Outfall Pipe
The Water Quality Management Committee has placed a $1.4M article on the November Town Meeting to seek approval for planning and early development of an outfall pipe into Vineyard Sound.
Aug. 18, 2023
APCC Releases Booklet On Cape-Friendly Landscaping
The Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) has released a new publication for Cape Cod property owners called “Guidelines for Cape-Friendly Landscapes.”
June 23, 2023
Noting that in 25 to 50 years, large chunks of coastal Falmouth will submerge regularly, Marine Biological Scientist Ivan Valiela stated, “I don’t think it’s a wise thing to put pipes ... in areas that have a 25-year life expectancy,” especially given how expensive sewers are to install. See How Will Sea Level Rise Affect Falmouth's Sewer Plans?
June 23, 2023
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection issued final regulations for reducing nitrogen pollution in Cape Cod's estuaries. As a result, Falmouth will be required to submit a plan for how the town will address this challenge over the next 20-years. See State Passes Regs To Push Cleanup Of Polluted Estuaries.
Falmouth Enterprise - June 23, 2023
How Will Sea Level Rise Affect Falmouth's Sewer Plans? Ecosystem Scientist Weighs In
As the town works toward alleviating nitrogen loading by sewering over the next two decades, it must take into account that low-lying areas of Falmouth will be under water within 50 years, said Ivan Valiela, a scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. In 25 to 50 years, large chunks of coastal Falmouth will submerge regularly, Dr. Valiela said, and added, “I don’t think it’s a wise thing to put pipes ... in areas that have a 25-year life expectancy,” especially given how expensive sewers are to install. See article.
Falmouth Enterprise - May 19, 2023
The Editor of the Falmouth Enterprise called on the Water Quality Management Committee and town residents to embrace urine diversion as an alternative technology for protecting our waters in Time To Convince State Urine Diversion Works.
Falmouth Enterprise - May 9, 2023
In an effort to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering our waters, Falmouth's Water Quality Management Committee discussed the pros and cons of a fertilizer ban at it's May 1st meeting.
Falmouth Enterprise - May 5, 2023
The May 1st meeting of Falmouth's Water Quality Management Committee featured a lengthy discussion about why the Committee's proposal for expanded sewering was rejected at the April Town Meeting. See Falmouth Sewer Plan Failed At Town Meeting—Now What?
Falmouth Enterprise - April 21, 2023
Kim Comart's guest column, A Watershed Moment?, was featured on the Editorial Page of the Falmouth Enterprise. The article has generated significant interest in the Falmouth Pond Coalition, including new volunteers and donations.
Falmouth Enterprise - April 14, 2023
We were featured in the Falmouth Enterprise! Falmouth Neighborhood Pond Preservation Groups Unite features Cedar Lake residents Joyce and Bob Bock and covers the founding of our Coalition.
Kim Comart, Hilda Maingay, and Earle Barnhart are quoted in Falmouth Town Meeting Denies Sewering Plan, Funds Treatment Facility Upgrades, which covers the discussion about Articles 24 and 25 at Town Meeting on April 11.
Falmouth Enterprise- April 7, 2023
Falmouth Water Quality Management Committee Chairman Eric Turkington's column, Rising Seas: Falmouth's Past, Present, Future, presents a sobering vision of the future of Falmouth's coastline. One of the ramifications of sea level rise is that an increasing percentage of Falmouth's current and planned sewers will be underwater and inoperable over the next few decades.
Falmouth Enterprise - April 6, 2023
Most Salt Marshes Will Be Underwater By End Of Century, Falmouth Study Concludes
Over 90 percent of the world’s salt marshes will be underwater by 2100, according to a 50-year study of Great Sippewissett Marsh by scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
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