SANDWICH — On the southeastern edge of Joint Base Cape Cod , at an unassuming spot between the Francis A. Crane Wildlife Management Area and Otis Air National Guard Base , experimentation is taking place to develop more efficient wastewater management systems aimed at improving the natural environment and safeguarding public health.
It all occurs at the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center , a proving ground for potential wastewater systems of the future. It’s already an important resource for those researching better ways to manage wastewater, but now it’s on the verge of expanding that work with help from a $1,975,000 grant through Mass Tech Collaborative’s Innovation Institute. The Healey-Driscoll administration recently announced the grant.
The money will help pay for construction of a clean water center with conference, office and laboratory spaces intended to solidify the test center’s role as an innovation hub for wastewater treatment, education, collaboration and technology. That role is important in the face of climate change, especially in places like Cape Cod where embayments and ponds have been polluted by high levels of nutrients and where sea-level rise looms large…