[SEMCO] Panel on Wastewater Options at Waquoit Bay Reserve- Tuesday, January 4, 7-9 pm

[Muller, Joan (DCR)]

For immediate release: Panel on Wastewater Options at Waquoit Bay Reserve

Waquoit Bay Reserve continues its monthly community forums at the Visitor Center with, "The Scoop on Poop: Know Your Options for Treating Wastewater" on Tuesday, January 4 at 7 pm at the Waquoit Bay Reserve Visitor Center on Route 28 in Waquoit, East Falmouth. The goal of this program is to deliver a scientifically-based comparison of different wastewater systems so community members can have accurate, pertinent information on which to base decisions. The session will be moderated by Tonna-Marie Surgeon-Rogers, Coastal Training Program Coordinator at the Reserve who coordinated a series of workshops on this same topic last year. An expert panel will discuss the pros and cons of centralized and decentralized treatment options including sewers, neighborhood cluster systems, on-site alternative systems (including composting and urine diverting systems), shellfish aquaculture for nitrogen removal, and modifying tidal inlets to improve flushing.
Panelists include Mike Giggey, Senior Vice President, Wright-Pierce, who is a member of Mass DEP's task force updating the groundwater discharge permitting regulations and has completed several dozen reviews of private wastewater facilities on Cape Cod.   George Heufelder, Director of the Barnstable County Department of Health and the Environment, established the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center in 1999.  John Ramsey, Senior Coastal Engineer and Principal at Applied Coastal Research, has served as the coastal engineering consultant to the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management (MCZM) office since 2000. Diane Murphy, Fisheries and Aquaculture Specialist at the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension and Woods Hole Sea Grant Program has participated in many studies on shellfish aquaculture. In addition to the expert speakers, homeowners who are using some of the alternative systems have been invited to attend and will be available for an informal discussion time at the end of the moderated panel discussion.

This program is the fourth in the series "Reduce Your Nitrogen Footprint: First Tuesdays at Waquoit Bay Reserve". Each month, a different action that can help to preserve our coastal waters for ourselves and our children is examined. Too much nitrogen (from wastewater, fertilizers and the burning of fossil fuels) entering our water results in polluted coastal bays.  Along with the practical information presented by a topic specialist, Reserve staff will introduce the talks with information on how the reserve is modeling the chosen behavior as well as research going on at Waquoit Bay that shows the connections between actions on land and effects on water. The talks are followed by discussion time where participants can ask questions as well as share their own solutions and experiences. The lecture starts at 7 pm and will wrap up by 9:00 pm.


The program is free and open to all. Reasonable accommodations (including sign language or Portuguese interpreter) are available upon request. Registration is appreciated but not required. This program is sponsored by Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.  For more information and a downloadable complete schedule of the monthly forums as well as on-line registration, please go to www.waquoitbayreserve.org<http://www.waquoitbayreserve.org>. You can also call 508-457-0495 x107 for further questions or suggestions.


Joan Muller
Education Coordinator
Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
149 Waquoit Hwy.
Box 3092
Waquoit, MA 02536
508-457-0495 x107
www.waquoitbayreserve.org

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