Eastham WRAB-WWMPC
Minutes Meeting of Sept. 11, 2007, 2 p.m.
Earle Mountain Room, Eastham Town Hall
Attending were Chair Weiss, Co-chair Whitmore, members Olthof, Sullivan, Lightfoot, Nugent and Bayne; Health Agent Crowley, BoS liaison Martin (and briefly Selectmen McDonald and Schropfer, who left when they realized there were three members of the BoS there), and consultant Paul Gabriel.
The minutes of the meetings of 6/12 and 8/14 were approved unanimously.
Weiss, Whitmore, Olthof and Bayne had staffed a WRAB-WWMPC booth at Windmill Weekend and reported a sizeable number of people had come by to discuss municipal water and to inquire about the status of the pond study.
The booklet called Municipal Water System Key Questions and Answers (Q and A) was distributed; it will be available at town hall and library, and published in The Cape Codder and The Cape Cod Voice. (In file.)
Crowley, Martin, Schropfer and McDonald attended a meeting with the Orleans and Brewster Boards of Selectmen to discuss the possibility of joint waste water planning, and specifically to consider a joint application for a waste water planning grant from the Cape Cod Water Protection Collaborative. (In file.) Crowley will represent Eastham on the committee being formed.
Crowley reported that Barnstable County has funded a proposal for the review of planning and zoning needs in Cape towns which have/will have both municipal water and sewer; applications have been received and are being reviewed.
Town Meeting preparation issues:
Crowley reported that water testing data will be placed on a map being developed by Gail Fitzback. This map is to be used at hearings and T.M. to show nitrogen data, including the most recent round of results from center Eastham.
The board discussed the Q and A: The issue of mandatory hook up was raised because it had been questioned by a few voters at Windmill Weekend. Bayne distributed her survey of local towns’ policies, and reported that it is not mandatory. (In file.)
Whitmore reported on his study of alternative water treatments, such as the cost of treating a private well for iron and manganese and for nitrogen.
He reported that the reverse osmosis system is expensive and limited in that the under sink tanks hold only 2.5 gallons of water. In addition, although currently there is no requirement locally about this, the brine which remains is technically a haz mat, and should be disposed of as such.
Gabriel recommended that the Whitmore fact sheet be printed and available for distribution at T.M.
Bayne reported her conversation with Cape Cod 5 manager Souza, who recommended the group make an educational presentation to the Chamber of Commerce. She will call the Chamber and try to set this up. The board hopes to find realtors who can substantiate the idea that house values are higher if water is available.
There will be two public hearings on the article: Sept. 26 at 4 p.m., and Sept. 29 at 9 a.m., both at Town Hall.
Martin thought it likely there would be a prep session at the BoS work meeting of Sept. 19.
In discussing the TM presentation, Gabriel supported the idea that the proponents and relevant boards should sit together at a table, prepared to present and to answer questions. He suggested a short initial presentation which condenses the information in the Q and A. He felt effective visuals would be the map showing the location of tested private wells and their nitrate levels, one slide showing the ascending curve of the wells with 5 ppm nitrates and the descending curve of those with 2 ppm nitrates, and a ground water table contour map showing the location of the possible municipal wells. He felt too that the BoS should make an impassioned presentation of their support. He and Mark White will be there, and are willing to respond to technical questions, but stated that the most powerful argument comes from
citizens who are convinced of the need for municipal water.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:30.
Submitted by Sandy Bayne, Clerk
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