Clean Water Coalition Update
Nearly one year ago we shared the exciting news about the formation of the Nantucket Clean Water Coalition, a group of local organizations working collaboratively to develop a common agenda for protecting Nantucket’s waters.
First and foremost, we want to celebrate Emily Molden in her new position on the Harbor Action Plan Update Committee! One of the “at-large” seats was reallocated to the Clean Water Coalition by our partners at the Town– a testament to the strength of the Coalition as a voice for water quality.
Over the last year, as the co-founders of the CWC, representatives from the Shellfish Association, Land Council, and Maria Mitchell have been holding regular monthly meetings with Town Department Directors. This has opened a dialogue between our groups to discuss pain points and opportunities in our three main categories impacting water quality: fertilizer, wastewater, and stormwater. We are excited to share with you some of the updates and progress we have made!
FERTILIZER
In our monthly meetings, we have dedicated significant time to the topic of fertilizer. Regulations fall between the Health Department with Roberto Santamaria and the Natural Resources Department with Jeff Carlson. We are continuing to explore opportunities to amend our Best Management Practices, increase record keeping and reporting, and of course bolster education with landscapers and homeowners alike. For this year, we are excited about the following developments:
Enforcement Officer/Patroller: The Natural Resources Department has added a new role to their team- Conservation Agent! Will Del’Erba comes to this role with a background in conservation and included in his responsibilities will be fertilizer enforcement and patrolling. Keep an eye out for some fun, educational social media posts with Will!
Licensing program improvements: We have a long-term goal to increase the Fertilizer Licensing Course with the Natural Resources and Health Departments. To start, they have recorded course material with NCTV to be made available online with a number of languages available as subtitles!
WASTEWATER & STORMWATER
These two categories are much more based in Town infrastructure and therefore large-scale progress is a long term goal.
One exciting note is the move of stormwater management to the Sewer Department under David Gray. There are plenty of places that no longer have the proper infrastructure to handle heavy rains, and that team is working through the most problematic areas first to provide them the resources they need. The goal is to include these findings in an Island Wide Stormwater Management Plan in the near future and create Best Management Practices for Stormwater Infrastructure.
Also on the radar of the Sewer Department is the Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan (CWMP). The original was written in 2004 with a 2014 update. It is anticipated that the Sewer Department will undertake the next round of updates in 2024. We are pleased to report that the Shimmo sewer project is about 90% complete and a second force main was included for potential expansion to Shawkemo.
We have made an incredible amount of progress towards supporting our mission this year, but this is just the start! We encourage you to be curious about Nantucket’s water. Ask questions and learn how you can be part of the solution! And stay tuned for more updates as the Clean Water Coalition has educational resources coming your way and a Summer Speaker Series to explore water quality on Nantucket!
