sewer

Barnstable County provides low- and no-interest loans to residents who need help paying to fix, replace or upgrade their septic systems, or hook up to municipal sewers. That loan program, called Cape Cod AquiFund, just got a $13 million cash infusion.

Two years ago, the town sewer system’s critical central vacuum system malfunctioned, after heavy rain caused a failure in the electrical panel. The results, for many, were unpleasant.

The feds could eventually release rules limiting the use of treated sludge as fertilizer, meaning more towns will be trying to dispose of theirs. The team at the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center call this scenario, "Sludgement Day."

Watch the drone footage of local waters and the nitrogen-fed algae overtaking them.

Town Meeting will address the construction of a water-treatment plant.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection could bring out regulations early next year that would forcefully encourage towns to apply for new "watershed permits." Residents of towns without those permits could be required to upgrade their home septic systems.

Summer resident Kevin Levesque, known for his shows as Miss Conception, says sewage started backing up into his bathroom almost a week after the town declared a sewer emergency.

“It's very weird, standing in an empty restaurant, with a bunch of people out at 1:15 in the afternoon on ... what would be a busy August day,” said Michael Janoplis, co-owner of The Mayflower.