Wastewater and Septic System Management

Sub-pages: Septic System Test Center SepTrack Septic Tracking Septic System Slide Show.

Wastewater Management in the Buzzards Bay Watershed

Sewering and Wastewater Facilities

As of the 2000 US Census, onsite septic systems serve 48% of the population in the Buzzards Bay watershed, or more than 117,000 people. The remaining population is served by centralized sewer systems, principally connected large municipal wastewater facilities. The map below shows sewered areas of the Buzzards Bay watershed (purple crosshatch), and the locations of sewer outfalls and sewerage groundwater discharges (red circles).

Larger municipal wastewater treatment facilities were identified as a management concern in the 1992 CCMP. There are now eight publicly owned treatment works (sewage treatment facilities) in the Buzzards Bay drainage basin. Three of these facilities discharge to groundwater (Falmouth, Fairhaven-West Island, and the Massachusetts Military Reservation facilities); the others discharge to surface water. Read our 1992 CCMP Managing Sewage Treatment Facilities Action Plan to learn more.

When the CCMP was written, the biggest concern with these sewage treatment facilities rested with the New Bedford wastewater facility. This facility was poorly operating and discharged little better than "primary" level of treated effluent. In the 1990s the facility was upgraded to advanced secondary level of treatment, and this improvement, together with the elimination of dry weather discharge of sewage from New Bedford combined sewer overflows (CSOs), has resulted in dramatic improvements in water quality in outer New Bedford Harbor.

With the upgrade of the New Bedford facility, the attention has now turned to the impacts of these sewage treatment facilities and septic systems on groundwater or surface water, especially to nitrogen sensitive embayments. The facilities in Fairhaven, Falmouth, and Wareham will be most affected by efforts to manage nitrogen in coastal waters. Go to our Nitrogen Management webpage to learn more about this topic.

Map of the Buzzards Bay watershed showing sewered areas and major sewage discharges.

Map of the Buzzards Bay watershed showing sewered areas (cranberry crosshatch), and the locations of major publicly owned sewage treatment facility outfalls and groundwater discharges (red circles). The sewered areas on the Massachusetts military reservation (center-right) is approximate. Areas of Mattapoisett include recently sewered areas, but not all homes are connected . Some areas shown for Wareham are in the process of being sewered, are out to bid, or are expected to be completed by 2010. View a large or extra-large (5 MB) version of the map.

Municipality	New Bedford	Fairhaven	Dartmouth	Wareham	Marion	Falmouth
Issued Permit	MA0100781	MA0100765	MA0101605	MA0101893	MA0100030	SE-168
Permit Data	MA0100781	MA0100765	MA0101605	MA0101893	MA0100030	SE-168
permit type	surface	surface	surface	surface	surface	groundwater
Permitted Volume	30.0 MGD	5.0 MGD	4.2 MGD	1.56 MGD	0.5 MGD	1.0 MGD
Percent Sewered	95%?	65%	50%	40%	60%	3%
Others served	Acushnet, Dartmouth	Mattapoisett	-	Bourne	-	-
Discharge Location	Off Clarks Point in Buzzards Bay	New Bedford Harbor (Acushnet River)	Off Mishaum Point in Buzzards Bay	Agawam River to Wareham River Estuary	Benson Brook to Aucoot Cove	Groundwater to West Falmouth Harbor
Issue date	1-Nov-00	4-Mar-03	13-Nov-03	1-Jun-03	2-Aug-04	15-Feb-02
Expiration date	1-Jan-05	4-Apr-05	3-Nov-08	30-Sep-07	2-Oct-08	15-Feb-03
Treatment(1)	advanced secondary	secondary	secondary	tertiary	tertiary	tertiary
Pre-treatment Progr.?	yes	No	No	No	No	No
N limit?	no, report only	no, report only	no, report only	yes, 4.0 ppm TN seasonal	no, but seasonal ammonia limit	yes, 3.0? ppm TN seasonal

(1) Primary treatment: Wastewater treatment process where solids are removed from raw sewage primarily by physical settling. The process typically removes about 25-35% of solids and related organic matter (BOD5). Secondary treatment: Waste treatment process where oxygen-demanding organic materials (BOD) are removed by bacterial oxidation of the waste to carbon dioxide and water. Bacterial synthesis of wastewater is enhanced by injection of oxygen. Tertiary treatment: Waste treatment processes designed to remove or alter the forms of nitrogen or phosphorus compounds contained in domestic sewage.

Onsite Wastewater Systems

In Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Sanitary Code ("Title 5" or 314 C.M.R.15.00), first promulgated in 1978, established the minimum requirements for the subsurface disposal of sanitary sewage. These regulations established design standards (as opposed to performance standards) for the construction of septic systems. The most important of these design standards limiting the installation of septic systems has been required setback distances from protected resources, especially the separation of the base of the system to groundwater (4 feet in most soils) and surface waters (50 feet), and the allow-able percolation rate (until recently, slower than 30 minutes per inch was allowed).

Title 5 represents a minimum standard for onsite wastewater disposal in Massachusetts. Boards of Health administer most of the elements of these regulations, however, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection must approve any locally approved variances from the regulations. Besides Title 5 regulations, under Massachusetts Home Rule and Chapter 111, Section 31 of the Massachusetts General Laws, municipalities can adopt more stringent regulations to better protect public health and the environment or meet special local needs. While their have been challenges to Boards of Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Court upheld the rights of the Board of Health to enact more stringent local regulations.

In the 1992 Buzzards Bay CCMP, management concerns were identified about the actual and potential impacts of Title 5 systems to water quality, the environment, and human health. The stated goal in the CCMP was to "prevent public health threats and environmental degradation from on-site wastewater disposal systems." This was to be accomplished by

better enforcing the provisions contained in Title 5 regulations;
upgrading pre-Title 5 systems suspected of contaminating groundwater or surface waters;
addressing the inadequacies of Title 5 through board-of-health regulations;
improving the Title 5 code through recognition of nitrogen impacts, virus transport, and sensitive areas; and
promoting innovative technology that will reduce nitrogen.

Many of these objectives have been partly or substantially achieved. Read our 1992 CCMP Septic System Action Plan to learn more.

Septic System Information

Law Library Page on Septic System Laws and Regulations in Massachusetts

Other BBP Wastewater Related Pages

More information about what the Buzzards Bay project is doing to address problems with wastewater management can be found at these pages:

The BBP's ETI Alternative Septic System Test Center Page

Project awards $30,000 to Town of Falmouth for Community Wastewater System designs at New Silver Beach.

Project updates Town of Falmouth Wetland Regulations at ConCom's request.

SepTrack.
To help municipal Boards of Health better track the installation, permitting, inspection, and pumping of septic systems, the Buzzards Bay NEP conceived and paid for this septic tracking software package.

MA DEP's New Title 5 Septic System Tracker (BOH-2000).
Mass DEP has come out with its own version of a Septic System Tracking Program in Microsoft Access. Download it here for free. (File is a self exploding .exe file - 1/5/2000 update)

Septic System Slide Show.
Here is a slide show that highlights septic system performance and siting requirements in Massachusetts.

LINKS TO RELATED SITES

Barnstable County Alternative Septic System Technology Information Page.
Barnstable County is a partner with the Buzzards Bay NEP at the Septic System Test Center and other Projects. See their alternative septic system information pages.

MA DEP Wastewater Page with Title 5 and Alternative system technology information.

National Small Flows Clearinghouse.
"Helping America's small communities meet their wastewater needs."

New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, Innovative Technologies Page.

NSF International Wastewater Page.

State Law Library Page on Title 5 Septic System Information

The US EPA's CEIT Wastewater Technology Trade Show Page

University of Minnesota Extension Service Fact Sheets on many on-site wastewater topics

Commercial site on Septic Basics and Septic Care

Massachusetts Association of Health Boards

Key EPA NPDES Permit Data and Information Sites

EPA NPDES summary site for wastewater permits in Massachusetts.

EPA NPDES data database query for NPDES permits.

Search EPA's online enforcement and compliance data for NPDES individual permits

Our program was established in 1985 after Congress designated Buzzards Bay an "estuary of national significance." We joined the NEP in 1987. Our mission is to protect and restore water quality and living resources in Buzzards Bay and its surrounding watershed through the implementation of the Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Click to read more.

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