MARION — The Marion Board of Health announces that it will hold an informational webinar to discuss nitrogen-reducing septic systems and why a new regulation is being considered to reduce new sources of nitrogen to Marion’s coastal waters.
WHEN:
Saturday, May 16 at 9 a.m.
WHERE:
Zoom webinar
WHAT:
The Marion Board of Health reports that health of Sippican Harbor, Aucoot Cove and the Weweantic River continue to be of concern. More and more nitrogen is finding its way into the waters, making the waters cloudy and murky. More algae is also growing which leads to eelgrass loss and less oxygen in the water. This results in fish and shellfish beginning to disappear.
The largest single source of nitrogen pollution to Marion’s coastal waters is residential septic systems. Though old septic systems are often upgraded to a modern Title 5 system, Title 5 systems do very little to prevent nitrogen from degrading waters.
To reduce pollution, the Marion Board of Health is considering a regulation for new septic systems and failed systems identified at the time of sale. The regulation would require these systems to have an approved nitrogen removing system installed that decreases the nitrogen from a septic system by at least 50%. This change will stop hundreds of pounds of new nitrogen from entering waters each year.
This informational webinar will highlight the effects updated regulations could have. George Heufedler, Director of the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center, will join the webinar to talk about nitrogen-reducing septic systems and how they work.
Residents interested in joining the webinar to learn more about nitrogen-reducing septic systems are asked to RSVP to Maureen Murphy at [email protected] by Friday, May 15 at 2 p.m. Those who RSVP will be sent a Zoom invite to join the webinar.
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