Climate change is contributing to electric-green algae blooms. Massachusetts wants a cleanup of the antiquated septic systems feeding the mess, but it could cost billions.
Sara Wigginton, a microbiologist at the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center, works with samples of water and nitrate at the center in Sandwich, Mass., Dec. 5, 2022.
The algal explosion is fueled by warming waters, combined with rising levels of nitrogen that come from the antiquated septic systems that most of the cape still uses. A population boom over the past half-century has meant more human waste flushed into toilets, which finds its way into waterways. In response, and after several lawsuits filed by environmentalists, Massachusetts has proposed requiring cape communities to fix the problem within 20 years, through a mix of upgrading the septic tanks used by homes that aren’t connected to city sewer systems, and by building new networks of public sewer lines.Local officials say the plan would run into the billions of dollars and push housing costs beyond the means of many residents.
The town is bounded by Waquoit Bay to the west, Popponesset Bay to the east and Nantucket Sound to the south, speckled by freshwater ponds and sliced by rivers, with marshland and cedar swamps throughout. Its name is derived from a Native phrase meaning “great water.” But the concentration of nitrogen in the Mashpee River can reach three times the maximum safe threshold established by state officials, according to readings from 2021.
Lest any would-be swimmers remain tempted to give it a go, the signage is insistent. “If you see a bloom, stay out of the water and keep your pets out of the water. Do not fish, swim, boat, or play in the water.” If towns like Mashpee installed a sewage system that would collect waste from homes and clean it at a treatment facility, the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen entering the ponds, estuaries and the bay would decrease, and the blooms would eventually fade.
Septic systems work well where homes are too sparse to justify expensive sewers and water treatment plants. About 95% of the cape’s properties use them. But they don’t filter out nitrogen or phosphorus, which seeps into the groundwater and, eventually, bodies of water.On a recent December afternoon, Baumgaertel removed the cover leading to an underground chamber. Inside, nitrate-heavy liquid waste flowed into a space filled with wood chips and bacteria.
When completed after two years and at a cost of $64 million, the first phase of the sewer system will serve 439 single-family homes, about 5% of all households in Mashpee. The town’s plan is to eventually build sewers covering three-quarters of Mashpee, according to Ray Jack, the town’s wastewater project manager. He guesses it will cost as much as $450 million.
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