In the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the sailor cursed because he shot a friendly albatross that had brought his crew good luck describes the plight he and his shipmates faced becalmed under the broiling sun on a breathless sea: “Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.”
Future generations of Islanders may not find themselves quite in the predicament of the Ancient Mariner, but there is no question that the decisions Vineyarders make today will help determine the quality of water everywhere — the coastal ponds that provide abundant shellfish, the aquifer that supplies all our drinking water, and the ocean waters that sustain our local fisheries.
In an OpEd published in this week’s issue, “Smart wastewater management needed,” Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) executive director Mark London pinpoints the problem as nitrogen pollution.
Mr. London writes, “Most of the so-called manageable portion of the excess nitrogen — that is, the part that doesn’t come from air pollution — is caused by wastewater, or to be more specific, urine being flushed down tens of thousands of toilets, getting into the groundwater, and flowing into the ponds.”
It is not a pretty picture, but it is not one we can easily flush away. Mr. London, head of the Island’s regional permitting and planning agency, sketches out the problem and hints at some remedies, all expensive, like new technologies, restrictions on development, possible limits on bedrooms.
Next Thursday, November 20, the MVC will host a presentation by Paul Niedzwiecki, executive director of the Cape Cod Commission, on his agency’s planning efforts to protect the quality of Cape water systems. “This will give us a head start in our discussions about how best to proceed, from extending sewers and using alternative technologies, to regulatory reforms and monitoring,” Mr. London said. “How can we minimize costs, and what are potential sources of financing?”
Mr. London is correct that now is the time to begin grappling with the problem. The MVC deserves credit for taking a leadership role.
The challenge will be how to engage all stakeholders: businesspeople who rely on Island tourism, members of the construction trades, and young people increasingly priced out of a rapidly aging Island need to buy into the process.
There is nothing glamorous about the language of wastewater management. The issue has its aficionados, but for most of us, the terminology is mind-numbing. Taxpayers, who will pay the bills, and voters, who will approve the options, will need to understand the issues.
The history of the Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, and Tisbury wastewater treatment plants is instructive. In each case, quicker action and less foot-dragging would have meant lower capital costs in the long run.
The fear that sewering would open the door to unchecked growth and development has also led to some poor decision-making. In Tisbury, in order to appease opposition to a town sewer system from some community members, the town built a smaller version with a limited capacity to handle only a certain number of downtown properties, so that it would be “growth-neutral.”
Choking growth is not practical and it is not a solution. Many in Tisbury now think it was a mistake not to build more capacity into its system as the town looks for ways to reduce nitrogen loading into Tashmoo and the Lagoon. Oak Bluffs is also faced with too little capacity for too big a problem.
In his introduction to the 21-page executive summary of the The Cape Cod Commission’s updated Water Quality Plan, Mr. Niedzwiecki wrote, “But as one community we are at the crossroads of our environment and our economy. The cost of doing nothing is economically devastating to every Cape homeowner. The window is closing on our opportunity to solve this problem on our terms, sensitive to the diverse villages and neighborhoods that populate this peninsula.”
Next Thursday, Islanders and town leaders have an opportunity to hear how their Cape neighbors are approaching the problem of protecting water quality.
Strike three
Last week, yet again, a Superior Court judge told the Dukes County commissioners they are wrong. Is the third time the charm? We will see, but there is little reason to be optimistic that they will stop doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different result.
In 2005, Superior Court Judge Robert H. Bohn ruled that the legislation establishing the airport commission trumped the county charter, and the airport commission alone is empowered to expend its own funds to pay salaries.
In August, Associate Justice Richard J. Chin said the county could not place the county manager on the airport commission as a non-voting member. He also told the county treasurer to pay the airport bills and not to meddle in airport affairs.
Last week, Judge Chin told the county commissioners they could not increase the size of the airport commission from seven to nine members. In each case, Judge Chin issued temporary restraining orders but told the county that while they were free to proceed to trial they would most likely lose.
The county wants to mediate. Mediate what?