Informational Fact Sheet - October 16, 2023 Article 1 Town Meeting Warrant Wastewater Treatment Design Phase 2

Article 1:  Wastewater Treatment design – phase 2

See attached Fact Sheet for more information

The Annual Town Meeting (October 16) Warrant includes an important Article to continue the Town of Mashpee’s efforts to restore its water quality.  Phase 1 of our sewer project is currently underway; it’s time to start planning Phase 2.  Article 1 of the Warrant asks voters to approve a $7.5 million debt exclusion to fund the design of the next stage of Mashpee’s wastewater treatment system, including related expenses.

The Select Board and Sewer Commission unanimously approved this next stage of Mashpee’s wastewater treatment plan at a joint meeting on July 17, 2023. This unanimous decision followed many months of discussion with leading experts.

This next stage in wastewater treatment will bring public sewer service to an additional 1,288 homes, thus having a real impact on the long-awaited restoration of Mashpee’s waters. It also capitalizes on Mashpee’s investment in the nearly completed wastewater treatment plant, which is situated near the Town transfer station.

Article 1 is important because the Town must comply with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) regulations requiring towns with nitrogen sensitive areas (all of Mashpee) to file a watershed permit by July 2025 or replace every Title V system with innovative alternative (IA) systems by 2030 at a hefty cost to each homeowner in the Town.

Article 1:

Positions the Town of Mashpee to obtain a State-approved Watershed Management Plan. Without a watershed plan, every non-sewered Mashpee homeowner with a private septic system will be required to install an Innovative Alternative (IA) system at a substantial cost by 2030.

Asks voters to appropriate and authorize the borrowing of $7.5 million, subject to passage of a debt exclusion ballot question, to design this next phase of Mashpee’s wastewater treatment system (Town Meeting, October 16, 2023).

Requires a 2/3 vote at Town Meeting and, if approved, will require voter approval of a debt exclusion ballot question at a Special Election (November 7, 2023). 

Article 1 Warrant Description

Article 1 would appropriate funds and authorize the borrowing thereof, contingent upon the successful passage of a debt exclusion ballot question, for the planning and design of wastewater collection, treatment and effluent recharge initiatives in the Town of Mashpee and costs/ expenses incidental and related thereto, including costs relating to the acquisition of necessary easements and other interests in real property. This project is the next step approved by the Sewer Commission and the Select Board in implementing the Town's Watershed Nitrogen Management Plan/CWMP.