To the Editor:
I would like the board of health to answer one question: Which does more damage to our Island estuaries, 1 million people flushing the toilet each year, or the 35 to 40 inches of rain we annually have?
The board of health passed a fertilizer law to help the nitrogen overload in the ponds, and now wants to restrict septic systems (Sept. 15, “Tisbury board of health nitrogen regs stir concerns”). I would like to know how many house lots around the Tisbury ponds have been tested to get a baseline on their nitrogen level.
Just passing a law doesn’t prove you care unless you do the legwork. Two years ago I was told I needed a Title V system. I installed the system and reseeded the lawn. Now if I am in a watershed, I will have to spend up to another $20,000.
I think the board of health should be sued for these reasons:
- not letting Tisbury taxpayers vote on the subject.
- letting sidewalks with no drains be built on Lake Street for the past seven years. Every turkey, dog, insecticide, Roundup, oil, and gas spill ends up flowing right down Lake Street, down the ramp, and into the pond. Nice oversight, board of health. Just recently someone added a tar berm to make sure all the water with its contaminants makes it past the tennis courts to Tashmoo Pond.
- There is a town bylaw that states that no fish carcass can be thrown into Tashmoo Pond. There is a barrel for this purpose. In the past five years, I have watched thousands of pounds of fish bones being thrown into Tashmoo Pond. The shellfish warden knows this, and does not want to deal with it.
While all this water has been rushing down Lake Street into the parking lot, it has washed away the bulkhead. The town has twice allocated money to fix the bulkhead, has never done it, and has let two state permits expire. Yet the town wants to push these new nitrogen triggers on town residents, when it could be discussed with those in the watershed and all other town residents. More people say they care about the ponds, but there are selectmen and other town officials who have known about the breached bulkhead for the past five years and have dropped the ball, at least two permits’ worth.
I guess what I am trying to say is, I believe runoff from rainstorms introduces more nitrogen to our estuaries than do the septic systems around watersheds. Yes, septic systems add a very small percentage of the overall problem. Tashmoo Pond has three to four feet of sludge on the bottom, which acts like compost, creating heat and stealing oxygen from the bottom of the water column.
If the board of health believes septic systems are the main reason for pond failure, the BOH should look at occupancy permits in town, and enforce the laws. Can overuse lead to nitrogen overload on a septic system?
Other concerns of mine are the 20 acres the town of Oak Bluffs wants to clear-cut on Airport Road. When that’s all done, the trees and undergrowth that filtered nitrogen out will be gone, and the excess nitrogen will be heading toward Upper Lagoon Pond — so it’s not just a one-town problem.
I only know what I see, and that has been thousands of pounds of fish bones, and sand and its contaminants, entering the pond. The bulkhead has been breached for five years, with many missed opportunities to fix it. Yet somehow it is the property owners who are responsible for the ponds’ failure.
Glenn Pachico
Vineyard Haven
The post Tisbury fisherman airs nitrogen concerns appeared first on Martha's Vineyard Times.