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Frequently Asked Questions
The Targeted Wastewater Management Plan (TWMP) is designed to protect Eastham’s coastal waters, ponds, and drinking water by addressing nutrient pollution from wastewater. To achieve this, the plan includes expanding the Town’s wastewater infrastructure (sewers) and implementing other innovative solutions. A project of this scale naturally raises many questions. Below, we’ve compiled answers to some of the most frequently asked questions, covering topics like construction timelines, connection costs, and state regulations.
We anticipate having the cost estimates for the collection and treatment system by late winter or early spring. Once these estimates are finalized, we will provide more precise financial details, including the portion covered by the tax rate and the expected costs for individual homeowners.
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The first step to determining if you are anticipated to receive sewer as part of Phase 1 and Phase 2.
While regulations have not yet been developed for connections in Eastham. We know that we need the connections to remediate the estuary and remove the nutrients from the watershed to meet the TMDL’s established by the MA Estuary Project. Title 5 septic systems do not do enough to remove the nutrients of concern.
If the Town Meeting votes to approve the project on May 5, 2025, we intend to commence the bidding process in spring of 2026 and construction in fall of 2026.
We understand that each lot is unique, we will need to evaluate each lot individually. This lot by lot assessment will be done after the general design of the collection and treatment system. Our engineering team will work with homeowners to determine the most cost effective efficient path to connection.
Portions of North Eastham are subject to the Wellfleet Harbor Watershed plan. Our current collection and treatment system is focused primarily on the Salt Pond Watershed, part of the Nauset Estuary. Remediating this estuary is and has been part of our community wide approach to wastewater management. Our watershed permit will identify this community wide approach and alleviate the responsibility for homeowners in other parts of town to install I/A systems unless required by current Board of Health Regulations or future State and local regulations not being contemplated at this time.
We remain in conversation with Orleans about future shared options for wastewater disposal. Currently, we do not have an agreement to dispose of Eastham wastewater in Orleans. This may be possible in the future if they have additional capacity left over once all the Orleans properties are connected and real flows are established, and their plant has been in operation and demonstrated excess capacity.