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| The facts are what I say they are. |
By Linda Felaco
As an avid shellfisher, I was curious about Jim Mageau’s
claim in a recent comment
here on the blog that an EPA study of Green Hill Pond had shown that
denitrification systems are unnecessary. Green Hill Pond is so heavily polluted
that it’s permanently closed to shellfishing, so it seemed to me that if
anything, the pond would be the poster child for denitrification systems.
So I went to the EPA web site, and here’s what I found: A
Blueprint for Community Wastewater Management: Block Island and Green Hill Pond
Watershed, Rhode Island EPA National Community Decentralized Wastewater
Treatment Demonstration Project - Final Summary Report.
And guess what: It doesn’t say what Jim said it says.
In
fact, it says pretty much the opposite. It states the need for denitrification
systems quite clearly.
“The
three coastal communities [Charlestown, South Kingstown, and New Shoreham, all
three of which were studied in the report] receive heavy seasonal use from
rental properties and vacation homes, which overtaxes onsite systems and their
growth rates are among the highest in the state due to residential construction
and redevelopment pressures centered in coastal areas. The three communities
share similar resource protection goals, with priorities being to protect groundwater
supplies for public and private wells, and to protect saltwater ponds, which
are sensitive to nitrogen and bacteria. Onsite systems have been identified as
the major source of nitrogen to Green Hill Pond, which is impaired for
shellfishing due to excessive pathogens, and also nutrient-enriched.”
…
“Installing
new [onsite nitrogen reducing] systems diminished the threat of bacteria
contamination however, most of the demonstration systems used treatment
technologies generally capable of reducing nitrogen by 50% and in many cases,
to the 19 mg/l concentration standard set by RIDEM for denitrifying systems.
However, further reducing nitrogen to very low levels that might be necessary
to restore Green Hill Pond water quality has been a great challenge due to the
area’s high residential density, small lots, shallow groundwater table, and
limited space for package systems using treatment technologies with higher
nitrogen removal efficiencies.”
In other words, denitrification is necessary but is not sufficient
to actually restore the pond’s water quality. In fact, the report recommends
the use of shallow-narrow drainfields in
addition to denitrification, though it also says that the gains often end
up being offset by fertilizer use. Meaning not only do we need denitrification but we also need shallow-narrow drainfields and a fertilizer
ban.
“This
study indicates that shallow drainfields can provide enhanced nitrogen removal
beyond that provided by the treatment unit but that fertilizing lawns can
offset benefits of advanced wastewater treatment systems. … The management
implications for this work are that compared to bottomless sand filters,
shallow pressure dosed drainfields offer opportunities for additional nitrogen
treatment and should be considered wherever lot size and water table depth is
great enough deep enough to accommodate shallow drainfields.”
…
“A draft facilities plan was
prepared under RI DEM guidelines and a scope of work was prepared with EPA
technical assistance to the communities. … The draft Facilities plan proposed
that a combination of increasing tidal flushing of Green Hill Pond by opening
an inlet to Rhode Island Sound and long-term conversion of conventional septic
systems to high efficiency nitrogen reducing technologies should be undertaken.”
So at this point, I’m thinking to myself, what a schmuck I’ve
been. Here I am doing all kinds of research on my stories, making sure I can back
up all my facts—often spending more time finding links than on the actual
writing—when all I need to do is find something related to the subject matter at
hand and just say that it says what I want it to say regardless of whether it
does or not. Heck, why even read it once I’ve found it. As long as it’s got a
plausible-sounding title, I’m golden! Won’t this be a huge timesaver. Thanks,
Jim!