MASHPEE, MASS. (WHDH) - For centuries, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe have fished in Popponesset Bay.
“I could go up in that river at anytime and pick a bushel of steamers out of a hole this big,” said Vernon “Buddy” Popknep of the Wampanoag.
But those days are over. Now, Popknep and Nathan Mills can only find shellfish in their man-made farm.
“There’s no more production of wild shellfish anymore. The bays are so polluted they can’t survive,” Mills said.
The situation is grim — more than 90 percent of Cape Cod’s saltwater bays are poisoned by these destructive algae blooms.
“What I see is a lot of devastation,” Popknep said.
The algae almost feels like hair and even looks like it, but when it builds up along the shoreline and clumps together, it blocks out all the sunlight killing everything underneath.
“Not enough water to even flush it out,” said Popknep.
7 Investigates went out on the water to see the damage up close. Algae is piling up along the riverbanks, in front of houses, turning the water a cloudy green. When this algae dies, it sinks and rots into a foul-smelling mud.
“You got about 18 inches of mud right here,” Popknep said.
Why is this happening? Environmentalists say nitrogen that is naturally produced from human waste in septic tanks is seeping into the water and feeding the algae blooms.
And some of these blooms aren’t just unsightly. If people are exposed to them in fresh water, they can suffer from stomach problems, respiratory issues, and skin rashes.
“Young children and pets are more susceptible,” said Andrew Gottlieb, of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod.
The blooms are also bad for the cape’s $1.4 billion dollar tourist industry.
“That house two doors down, they rent. So, if they’re charging $3,000 a week and a customer shows up the week that the town has notified you that you should stay out of the water, you’re going to have a lot of unhappy customers,” Gottlieb said.
Towns across Cape Cod are trying to stop the algae blooms by approving a major sewer project expected to last 30 years and cost millions. Its goal is to stop nearly all nitrogen from reaching the coastline.
“It comes down to a generational problem that occurred over multiple generations, and we’re trying to tackle it in just one generation,” said Kelly Colopy – the communications manager of the Barnstable Department of Public Works.
Barnstable is digging up streets to put down new pipes that will connect more than 1,000 homes and businesses to the sewer system.
“It does come with a lot of traffic complexities and obviously construction fatigue, too,” Colopy said. “It’s a delicate dance, but ultimately it’s work that needs to get done.”
Within 7 years, the project should cut the amount of nitrogen in Barnstable waters by 44 percent.
“We need all hands on deck. It’s a lifelong mission to clean this up. It might not happen in our generation, but if we can make make some smarter changes about the way we live, the way we eat, and the way we think, I think we can accomplish some great things,” Mills said.
And even though the fight is long, it’s one that many on Cape Cod are committed to winning.
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