EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (Without Figures) rev - Town of Falmouth

There has been much discussion of these scenarios and costs within the Town and the following
bullets summarize the major points of that discussion:
The costs of full implementation of alternatives to meet the TMDLs are very high, and
the Town may not be able to afford to achieve 100% compliance with the TMDLs in a 40
year time frame.
There is still uncertainty regarding the nitrogen TMDLs and the ability of the MEP water
quality model to accurately predict the desired estuarine concentrations and the return of
acceptable marine habitat.
The Town believes that the best way to begin the nitrogen mitigation for the Planning
Area is to extend sewers to the Phase 1 and 2 areas (illustrated on Figure ES-3) over the
20-year planning period and observe the effects with marine water quality monitoring.
This step (sewering south of Route 28, advanced wastewater treatment, and distributed
recharge) is a very substantial project that would dramatically reduce the nitrogen load to
the ponds and would represent major progress towards achievement of the TMDLs.
The best way to manage the collected wastewater is to treat it to a level where it can be
reused and recharged to the aquifer with minimal human and environmental health risks,
and with minimal disruption of the ground surface.
The ocean outfall alternative (Scenario 1D) has substantially lower annual operational
costs than the reuse alternatives (Scenarios 3B and 3C); however, ocean disposal has
many regulatory approval uncertainties and likely delays associated with it, and reuse and
recharge is the most environmentally acceptable alternative.
Phased collection system construction, treatment level B and distributed well recharge,
coupled with adaptive management over the 40 year implementation horizon is an
approach that would meet the TMDLs.
Because of the cost of the alternative scenarios listed above, and for a variety of other reasons,
there has also been much recent discussion (much of it in the newspapers and through direct
correspondence to Town Boards) regarding whether nitrogen management goals could be met
with less expensive, innovative/alternative (I/A) decentralized technology solutions. However,
one of the most basic findings of this Draft CWMP is that the water quality limits set by the state
Town of Falmouth, MA ES-18
Draft Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan and
Draft Environmental Impact Report
7104510.6