Hampered by bad weather and ground conditions, the construction of a new sewer pipe is not expected to be completed until June 23.
Major construction along Edgartown-West Tisbury Road is getting underway in Edgartown this month as part of an effort to shore up the town’s wastewater infrastructure.
Wastewater concerns continue to hover over the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital’s proposed new nursing home facility off the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, with selectmen voting Monday to commission an independent analysis.
The Edgartown wastewater treatment facility has dramatically curtailed its capacity for taking pumpouts from septic systems in recent months, forcing septic haulers to scramble.
Without wastewater treatment facilities, Island ponds could be in worse shape. Estuaries suffer from nitrogen overload, coming mostly from septic systems that remove bacteria but not nitrogen.
A few hundred alternative systems are installed on Martha's Vineyard, mostly in Edgartown and Oak Bluffs. The technology could help achieve nitrogen mitigation in Island coastal ponds.