Topic
Nitrogen
Nitrogen pollution: where it comes from, how it harms the bay, and plans to reduce it.
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Did cutting sewage nitrogen clean up Narragansett Bay? Fifteen summers of evidence
After Rhode Island’s sewage plants upgraded to remove nitrogen, the bay’s summer load fell by a third, severe algae events dropped by a third, and low-oxygen events nearly vanished, even as the…
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MassDEP briefs Mashpee on proposed nitrogen sensitive areas and watershed permits
MassDEP told Mashpee its estuaries would become nitrogen sensitive areas under proposed rules, requiring septic upgrades within five years unless the town obtains a watershed permit.
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Falmouth boards critique MassDEP’s proposed septic and watershed permit rules
Falmouth health and water quality officials questioned MassDEP’s draft choice between I/A septic upgrades at 14,000 homes and 20-year watershed permits.
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Is more nitrogen already on its way? Modeling the slow groundwater pipeline to Cape Cod’s bays
EPA scientists modeled all 54 Cape Cod estuaries and found that most have not yet felt the full nitrogen load already traveling toward them through groundwater.
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CPWB asks Falmouth and Mashpee to make the Red Brook fix cut nitrogen too
After the old dam under Red Brook Road failed, CPWB urged both towns to choose a repair that also reduces the nitrogen flowing into Hamblin Pond and Waquoit Bay.
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Mashpee officials propose requiring nitrogen-reducing septic systems across town
Four Mashpee officials proposed requiring nitrogen-reducing septic systems at teardowns, additions and failed inspections outside early sewer areas, raising staffing and cost questions.
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Does restoring old cranberry bogs cut a river’s nitrogen? Early data from the Coonamessett, 2018–2021
Woodwell scientist Chris Neill tracked the Coonamessett River after its bogs were restored. In the first three years, flows rose, nitrate kept building downstream, and the river carried 13,000–20,000 kg of nitrogen…
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CPWB brings Waquoit Bay’s decline to Falmouth’s water quality committee
CPWB members pressed Falmouth to prioritize Waquoit Bay as a researcher presented 20 years of data showing rising nitrogen, lost eelgrass, falling oxygen and more acidic water.
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Falmouth drafts a nitrogen-sharing agreement with Mashpee and Sandwich for Waquoit Bay
Falmouth circulated a draft agreement with Mashpee and Sandwich to divide responsibility for cutting nitrogen in Waquoit Bay, including a way to trade nitrogen credits.
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Has 35 years of nitrogen cuts shrunk the Chesapeake’s dead zone? Models and data say yes
Without the nitrogen cuts made since 1985, the Chesapeake Bay’s low-oxygen zone would have been far larger in 2016-2019. Warming has already cancelled part of that gain.
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Do sewers clean up the groundwater right away? USGS watches a Falmouth neighborhood switch off its septic systems
When about 1,400 Falmouth properties near Little Pond were connected to sewers, the groundwater beneath them began to improve, but USGS found no clear drop yet in nitrogen flowing toward the pond…
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CPWB hosts Eco-Machine inventor John Todd to explore floating wetlands for Waquoit Bay
At CPWB’s 2021 annual meeting, Eco-Machine inventor John Todd described floating-wetland treatment systems and estimated a Waquoit Bay version would cost about $20 million.
