Chatham’s $300 million solution
by Joseph SantangeloAt the elbow of Cape Cod, surrounded by water on three sides, the town of Chatham is completing a $300 million plan for expanding its existing sewage treatment plant and connecting up to 70 percent of the town to the sewer system.
Within the next year, voters at town meeting will be asked to authorize construction of the expanded treatment facility and begin the sewer collection system that will be built in phases over the next 20 years.
“This community is very interested in shellfishing, maybe even more so than other communities,” said Chatham Town Manager William Hinchey. “The community also is environmentally aware. But that is all probably secondary to the fact that we are under administrative order to increase the level of treatment [at the town sewer plant on Sam Ryders Road].”
Studies by the Massachusetts Estuaries Project also have identified nutrient pollution in Chatham’s Muddy Creek leading to Pleasant Bay, as well as the Bassing Harbor/Ryders Cove/Frost Fish Creek area, Sulfur Spring/Bucks Creek, the Stage Harbor system and Taylors Pond. See oceanscience.net/estuaries/reports.htm.
Chatham, like Barnstable, Falmouth and Provincetown, built a treatment plant decades ago to manage wastewater from its downtown area. Chatham also is fortunate to own adjacent land to expand the facility. Plant construction would take two years, and the first phase of sewer pipes would be connected soon after that.
Miles of sewers would be laid in 20 to 30 different contracts, staged during non-summer months, phased throughout town so as not to create gridlock.
Also in the final planning stages is a four-part funding mechanism. The estimated $300 million cost, or about $50,000 each if assessed equally on the town’s 6,000 property owners, would come from various sources each covering about 25 percent of the total amount. They are:
• a low-interest Massachusetts loan for construction of the treatment plant (which would replace other town debt that is being retired);
• annual fees on sewer users to cover sewer plant operations, maintenance and some amortization of the debt;
• a 1 percent real estate transfer tax on home sales, which would first require approval of the Massachusetts Legislature; and
• a combination of betterment assessments or property taxes.
What is it worth to Chatham businesses and homeowners?
“Since most of the town is going to be sewered and everybody will benefit [from clean water resources], why not do it with the property tax?” said Hinchey. “There is no question that what we trying to employ here is: If something is affordable, it is going to get done. We’re trying with whatever happens here not to price someone out of town.”
What is it worth to Chatham businesses and property owners to solve the wastewater problem?
If no solution is found and waters continue to degrade, Chatham property owners could face a drop in property values equal to or greater than the estimated cost of the sewage treatment system.
For example, a $500,000 Chatham property that loses 10 percent of its value because of diminished recreational and aesthetic values of its coastal waters would experience a $50,000 loss in value. A $1 million home could lose $100,000 of its value if Chatham’s reputation for beautiful scenic water views is tarnished. A 30 percent drop in value would mean a $300,000 loss.
Investing $50,000 per Chatham property owner for cleaner water may produce a payback of 100 percent or more in protecting and enhancing future property values.
Published in Cape Business Sept/Oct 2007
Joseph Santangelo Joseph Santangelo has been a statehouse bureau chief, a corporate executive and currently works for the Connecticut Legislature. 
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