Question 1 Passed!

Important measure for the health of the Popponesset Bay passed yesterday in the town election

Yesterday, in a resounding 75% vote of approval, the citizens of Mashpee approved a debt override of $2.4 million that will fund the planning process for a wastewater treatment plant on the northeast side of town. This plant will remove significant amounts of the nitrogen that is damaging the ecosystem and water quality in the Mashpee River and Popponesset Bay.

The vote came on the heels of a close vote at Town Meeting last week on the same measure. This is a significant step forward but just part of the journey to ensuring clean waters and a healthy town.

Special thanks to our supporters who vote in Mashpee!

It Truly Takes a Village

Thanks to the hardworking efforts of our young community, the Spit is staying clean of unwanted trash and litter.

With so many people visiting and enjoying the Spit these past few weeks there is a great amount of trash being left behind. We are finding that visitors are not taking care of our special respite. The need for volunteers is huge.

While most of us are sleeping, Ella Szymanski, a Newton South high school sophomore and her friend, are on their kayaks heading to the Spit for an early morning clean-up. They enjoy the quiet of the Spit and are able to do a thorough clean-up since not many people are out at that time. Ella also visits the Spit at other times during the day to make sure that trash is not evident.

Sixth grade twins from Newton, Jonathan and Jessica Slopak join their mom Julia several times a week to help out. They stroll the beach with bags in hand and always find some trash to clean-up and drag home.

Part of SPB’s mission is to keep the waterways in and around Popponesset Bay safe and navigable and to protect the wildlife reserve on the Popponesset Spit and ensure water quality for generations to come. Today, it is the future generations who are truly making a difference Thanks to the help of our young neighbors, the Spit and surrounding waterways have a better chance of staying clean.

If you would like to lend a hand and volunteer, please contact Kathy Cramer – kccramer@comcast.net.

A Severe But Solvable Nitrogen Problem

Popponesset Bay has a severe but solvable nitrogen problem in our waters that has already killed the eel grass and wildlife that are critical to our natural ecosystem. 75+% of the nitrogen comes from our septic systems. Water treatment facilities can lower the nitrogen from 40 to 3 mg/l. But the majority of our wastewater is currently NOT treated for nitrogen.

The first phase of the nitrogen management plan developed The Town of Mashpee calls for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant. The $2.4 million debt override for the planning for the plant is being put to the Mashpee Voters this month. We are asking for your support.

If you are a Mashpee voter, please consider voting TWO times to fund the planning for the wastewater treatment plant:

Vote for Question 7 at the Town Meeting on Monday June 15 (in person) For safety precautions, click here: https://www.facebook.com/n/?groups%2Fmashpeecleanwaters%2Fpermalink%2F3049005275190064%2F
Vote for Question 1 on the Town Election ballot on Tuesday June 23 (in person or by mail)

Ballots for the Town Election can be requested from the Town Clerk https://www.mashpeema.gov/home/news/june-23-2020-annual-town-election-quashnet-school-7-am-until-8-pm

For more information, check out our resources:
Join us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/mashpeecleanwaters
Follow us on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEg6mYPOQiyVrmcHVhjW3kg
Visit our in-depth information center https://sivadweb.com/savepop/what-we-do/water-quality/