Barnstable County Committee Recommends Aquifund Expansion

News release from Falmouth Delegate Dan Gessen.

CAPE COD, MA — The Standing Committee on Health and Human Services of the County Assembly of Delegates voted unanimously to recommend the expansion of the Aquifund by contributing $13 million in State and County funds to help alleviate the cost of hooking up to sewers and upgrading septic systems for year-round homeowners in Barnstable County.

This comes as a result of Falmouth Delegate Daniel Gessen’s ordinance 23-17, which sought to contribute $5 million from the county surplus to expand the size and scope of the resources provided by Aquifund, including developing a revenue-neutral loan forgiveness program for Cape Cod’s most vulnerable homeowners. The ordinance was referred to the Assembly’s Health and Human Services Committee in October of 2023, awaiting a proposal from the Board of County Commissioners.

“I’m ecstatic that the Commissioners and Administration have understood what the Assembly has warned about for almost a year. With the State’s new Title V regulations, it’s not a matter of if, but when Aquifund runs out of resources,” said Delegate Gessen. “The Commissioner’s proposal is a crucial step, but if we’re going to do everything we can to address the wastewater crisis, including loan forgiveness, the County has to put skin in the game.”

Last month, the Board of Commissioners requested that the Assembly authorize the County to make loans from the State’s Clean Water Trust to fund the Aquifund. Considering this request, the Committee recommended that $5 million come from the County’s $28 million surplus and $8 million be authorized as a loan from the State Revolving Fund.

In a joint letter of support to the Assembly in August, both of Cape Cod’s state senators, Julian Cyr and Su Moran, expressed their endorsement of bolstering the Aquifund from the unreserved fund. They expressed the significance that an expanded Aquifund program will play in addressing water management challenges facing Cape Cod.

“Homeowners are on the front lines of our wastewater crisis,” said Delegate Elizabeth Harder, a co-sponsor of the original ordinance. “Bolstering the Aquifund is the most important thing we can do to provide relief to the people who need it most.”

The recommendation will move to the full Assembly for consideration in the coming weeks.