In The News

BARNSTABLE — Fifteen years ago, when Sandra Bolton and her husband bought their three-bedroom Cape overlooking the serene waters of Shubael Pond, their view was like “heaven on Earth,” she said. Few summer days passed when they didn’t take a dip.

But in recent years they began to notice a guacamole-colored scum marring the previously clear waters. Last summer, just as temperatures were increasing and the pond beckoned, local officials banned swimming there after finding toxic algae blooms that can be harmful if ingested, inhaled, or touched.

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It has been a busy season so far for APCC’s Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program.

With pond temperatures rising quickly in the transition from spring to summer, Association to Preserve Cape Cod this week confirmed the emergence of toxic cyanobacteria scums in five ponds across the Cape: Walkers and Cliff ponds in Brewster, Mares and Deep ponds in Falmouth, and Long Pond in Marstons Mills.

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2 ponds in Barnstable closed to swimming as testing continues. Recent testing of approximately 70 of the Cape’s 996 ponds and lakes revealed the presence of toxic bacteria in a handful of them. These cyanobacteria are naturally occurring and produce toxins that can harm dogs and humans. Their proliferation is being aided by global warming and nutrient pollution by septic systems and stormwater runoff. Full Article

In five ponds across the Cape, high concentrations of blue-green algae blooms are raising concerns about dangerous levels of toxins they produce. Blue-green algae blooms, also known as cyanobacteria scums, can make the water of a pond look like pea soup, though usually the growths are natural and harmless parts of ecosystems.  Full Article

While the doors have remained closed, outside, construction of a new garden has been underway at the Cotuit Library. Like all non-essential businesses and institutions, the library has been closed since March; but while everything else in society seems to have slowed down, construction has been able to proceed at pace. Full Article

The saga of the Vineyard Wind project continues. Federal regulators have put a lengthy hold on what was supposed to be the nation’s first industrial-sized offshore wind farm while conducting a detailed assessment of the environmental impacts of all potential offshore wind projects down the East Coast. Full Audio

HARWICH — The Conservation Law Foundation and the Wychmere Beach Club have agreed to a proposed settlement in a lawsuit filed by CLF alleging that the resort was illegally discharging pollution into marine waters. The settlement would result in reduced pollution, new efforts to address nitrogen sources and protect the Wychmere Harbor Watershed, according to a press release from CLF. Full Article

Tensions between local environmentalists and housing advocates have long played out in battles to preserve local land while making sure people can afford to live on Cape Cod. Full Article

ORLEANS — Conservation Law Foundation praised the April 23 Supreme Court ruling that found pollution reaching coastal waters, navigable streams and rivers through groundwater can be considered a violation of the Clean Water Act if the source of the pollution is operating without a required EPA permit. Full Article

HARWICH — In placing the burden for wastewater cleanup and prevention on the shoulders of the US Environmental Protection Agency instead of state agencies, a recent US Supreme Court decision could spur Cape and Islands towns to significantly pick up the pace in addressing contamination of ponds and bays by nutrients and other contaminants from septic systems and treatment plants. Full Article