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Waste Water Review <br /> Frequently asked Questions which need to be addressed. <br /> What will happen on Cape Cod if we do nothing to address present and future Nitrogen <br /> pollution from our growing population and tourist economy? <br /> Estuary decay will continue to increase resulting in marine life depletion, such as <br /> shellfish and fish kills, from excessive vegetation and algae growth which deprive <br /> marine life of oxygen. <br /> This vegetation then drops to the bottom as a rotting mass. Left unchecked <br /> Nitrogen pollution reduces estuaries to eyesores and sources of foul odors. <br /> Our source of drinking water are wells situated below the surface watersheds. <br /> They are replenished by rain and our waste water. Our polluted estuaries represent <br /> what we are doing to our watersheds and what is going to happen to our drinking <br /> water aquifer. <br /> A declining,polluted, and unsightly, natural habitat will reduce property values, <br /> investment, businesses, and tourism thus causing a declining quality of life on <br /> Cape Cod. <br /> Where is the Nitrogen pollution coming from that is deteriorating the Cape Cod <br /> watersheds? <br /> Every time a person flushes a toilet, concentrated Nitrogen in our waste products <br /> moves into a watershed. Personal waste represents about 70% of the Nitrogen <br /> pollution in our watersheds. <br /> My waste water goes into a Title 5 system, an upgraded Title 5 system, or an area waste <br /> processing system. Isn't this good enough? <br /> Title 5 Systems place about 30-40 mg of Nitrogen per liter of water into our <br /> watersheds. Up graded Title 5 systems place about 15-20 mg of Nitrogen per liter <br /> of water into our watershed. Area processing plant can reduce this Nitrogen <br /> loading to about 10 mg per liter. Clearly processing plants can reduce personal <br /> contributions of Nitrogen pollution by approximately 71% and 43% respectively. <br /> What is the Federal EPA and State mandated allowable Nitrogen concentration in septic <br /> waste water? <br /> Any level which is above the level present naturally in an estuary is considered <br /> excessive. <br />