Join the Brewster Ponds Coalition, Brewster Conservation Trust, and APCC in supporting watershed protection of the Sea Camps Long Pond Property. Comments must be sent to BrewsterSeaCamps@gmail.com through December 10, 2023. Dear Members and Friends: While the BPC recognizes the critical need for attainable housing in Brewster, we strongly object to the proposed housing option on the Long Pond property. Why not the pond property? Because more than half of the property is in a zone II drinking water protection area. About half of the town’s water supply comes from this well field. The pond property is also a potential location for additional wells if needed. Much of the property is in the sensitive Herring River Watershed, and all of the property impacts Long Pond, the largest kettle pond on Cape Cod which the US EPA identified as being impaired back in 2004. Let’s not make it worse. Grow Smart Cape Cod, a mapping project partnership by APCC and Housing Assistance Corporation, identified the Long Pond property as being located within a priority natural resource area that should be protected and, therefore, is not appropriate for the development of housing. The same APCC-HAC project identified the area of the Cape Cod Bay Sea Camps property as one of the most suitable locations for housing in Brewster. Yes, Brewster needs attainable housing, but we need to be smart about where to put it and have a plan for dealing with the resulting wastewater. Brewster is the only one of the 15 towns on the Cape that doesn’t yet have a comprehensive wastewater plan. Thus, the BPC strongly believes that all town-sponsored housing projects should be put on hold until a comprehensive wastewater plan has been developed. The Brewster Ponds Coalition Board of Directors Photograph courtesy of William F. Pomeroy, taken on Long Pond.
Thank you to all Brewster voters who attended the Special Town Meeting on November 13. The four warrant articles that relate to the town's water quality and were strongly supported by the BPC all passed. It is safe to say that Brewster's residents care about the health and future of our important water resources. For more information on all the articles and the resulting votes, visit the Town of Brewster website.
Please attend the Town of Brewster Special Town Meeting!
Monday, November 13 6 PM (check-in begins at 5 PM) Stony Brook Elementary School 384 Underpass Road, Brewster This meeting is very important for all Brewster voters to attend. There are four articles related to the Brewster's water quality issues on the warrant, as follows: 1. Ponds Management Plan & Pilot Pond Study: Professional services and costs for development of a town-wide pond management plan and related pond pilot studies - to be funded from Free Cash/Water Quality Stabilization - $100,000 2. Herring River Watershed Permit: Professional services and costs for development of the Town’s planned Herring River Watershed Permit, including analysis of future build-out potential - to be funded from the Water Quality Stabilization - $50,000 3. Drainage/Road Maintenance: Professional services for engineering, permitting, and construction associated with road maintenance and drainage - to be funded from Free Cash - $250,000 4. Local Comprehensive Plan (LCP): To see if the Town will vote to adopt an updated Master Plan for Brewster which has been developed by the Vision Planning Committee, a copy of which plan is on file at the Town Clerk's office and posted on the Town's website, and which plan if adopted by the Town Meeting would constitute Brewster’s Local Comprehensive Plan as defined in Section 9 of the Cape Cod Commission Act (Chapter 716 of the Acts of 1989). Or take any other action relative thereto. The BPC encourages you to read the full warrant details here and looks forward to seeing you at the meeting. Your vote is important! The BPC held an informative meeting on November 1 at the Brewster Council on Aging, discussing the articles relating to water quality issues in the Town of Brewster that will be voted upon at the upcoming Special Town Meeting on November 13. The attendees were all very interested in learning more and asking questions about these four items: 1) Ponds Management Plan & Pilot Study; 2) Herring River Watershed Permit; 3) Drainage/Road Maintenance; and 4) Local Comprehensive Plan (LCP). The following day, the BPC appeared in an informative article in the Cape Cod Times, that further underscored the need to understand the key issues before voting. To read and download the full article, click here. And please mark the Town Meeting on your calendars: 6 PM on November 13 at Stony Brook Elementary School, 384 Underpass Road. Pictured above are Carol Gernert and Bruce Swiren, BPC Citizen Scrience team members, collecting water samples at Sheep Pond.
It's never too late to be informed about simple actions all of us can take to improve the health of our ponds. The BPC has prepared a fact sheet that outlines five key actions: testing our water, servicing septic systems, reducing fertilizer use, stopping polluted runoff, and planting and growing plants that are native to our environment. Simple steps can lead to big results!
Read and download the document here. Let's all be prepared for the Fall 2023 Brewster Special Town Meeting! Attend this informative session hosted by the BPC about the four articles relating to Brewster’s water quality issues. Wednesday, November 1, 2023 6:00 - 8:00 PM Brewster Council on Aging 1673 Main Street, Brewster The Brewster Ponds Coalition invites you to come learn more about the four articles relating to water quality issues in the Town of Brewster, which will be voted upon at our upcoming Special Town Meeting on November 13. 1. Ponds Management Plan & Pilot Pond Study: Professional services and costs for development of a town-wide pond management plan and related pond pilot studies - to be funded from Free Cash/Water Quality Stabilization - $100,000 2. Herring River Watershed Permit: Professional services and costs for development of the Town’s planned Herring River Watershed Permit, including analysis of future build-out potential - to be funded from the Water Quality Stabilization - $50,000 3. Drainage/Road Maintenance: Professional services for engineering, permitting, and construction associated with road maintenance and drainage - to be funded from Free Cash - $250,000 4. Local Comprehensive Plan (LCP): To see if the Town will vote to adopt an updated Master Plan for Brewster which has been developed by the Vision Planning Committee, a copy of which plan is on file at the Town Clerk's office and posted on the Town's website, and which plan if adopted by the Town Meeting would constitute Brewster’s Local Comprehensive Plan as defined in Section 9 of the Cape Cod Commission Act (Chapter 716 of the Acts of 1989). Or take any other action relative thereto. Susan Bridges, President of the BPC, and Sharon Tennstedt, LCP committee chair, will be providing background about each of these articles, answer questions about each, and explain why your vote is important. Please plan to join us on Wednesday, November 1. Registration is appreciated, but not required. Photograph of the 2021 town vote for the purchase of the Cape Cod Sea Camps, courtesy of William F. Pomeroy.
The BPC Pond Protection Pledge (PPP) program has been featured in an article in the October 5 print and online editions of The Cape Cod Chronicle. Click here to download and read this news. The article explains the focus of the PPP, which simply is to involve residents, homeowners, and pond associations to make a pledge to ensure the quality of Brewster's ponds with three important actions: eliminating chemical fertilizers, pumping septic tanks every two to three years, and reducing or eliminating cleaning products that contain phosphorus. Marty Burke, BPC board member and Citizen Science Team leader, explains how this program is designed to ideally prevent any potential problems in Brewster's ponds such as toxic algal/bacteria blooms. By becoming "stewards of the land," we can all do our small part by taking this pledge. Following along with the principle of the PPP, the BPC has prepared the informational document "Five Steps to Improve the Health of Our Ponds." In addition to the action steps identified above, this fact sheet provides more detailed information and includes how to stop polluted runoff and the importance of planting and growing plants that are native to Cape Cod. Please read and download this important document here. Pond Protection Pledge signs posted by Seymour Pond association members residing on Tracy Lane in Brewster.
Photograph courtesy of William F. Pomeroy. It is projected that due to climate warming the tide levels and water temperatures in Pleasant Bay will increase by the end of the century. The Pleasant Bay Alliance is currently working to identify ways in which the Bay's climate resilience can be increased. As such, the Alliance is providing two opportunities for citizens to learn about these potential impacts to the Bay and to provide comments on potential strategies moving forward.
The community forum noted above will present research on "estimated climate effects on the barrier beach and inner shoreline, coastal flooding, and impacts to public access and infrastructure." Representatives from various Alliance partners will make presentations, including the Center for Coastal Studies, Woods Hole Sea Grant, Boston University, and Cape Cod National Seashore. This is a free event and open to the public. Registration is required and can be accessed here. The second opportunity is an online community survey, available here on the Pleasant Bay Alliance website. Your opinions about potential climate related effects and resilience strategies are important. Survey results will be shared at the October 21 forum. Just in case you missed the insert in your monthly water bill, below is a notice that the Town of Brewster issued concerning acceptable use of lawn fertilizer. This notice explains how to use phosphorous-free, slow-release fertilizer on lawns to protect or ponds and streams. You can also view this information on the Town of Brewster's website, by clicking here.
The BPC participated at the Volunteer Recruitment Fair on Friday, September 8, held at the Brewster Ladies Library. Our representatives shared information about the BPC's events and activities, as well as opportunities to volunteer in a range of our committees and initiatives. Pictured below are Kristi Dondlinger, an avid BPC volunteer, and Ron Essig, a BPC Board member and Citizen Science Team Leader. In addition to Kristi and Ron, Marty Burke, also a BPC Board member and Citizen Science Team Leader, assisted with staffing our table at the fair.
For more information on our programs and volunteer opportunities, click on the "Programs" tab above. |
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