Nantucket Receives State Grant To Protect Sewer Beds From Coastal Erosion Threats

The town of Nantucket Natural Resources Department announced Monday that it has been awarded $299,572 through Governor Maura Healey's administration’s Coastal Resilience Grant Program for the Surfside Wastewater Treatment Facility Dune Restoration Conceptual Design and Long-Term Planning project.

The town will use the funding to assess alternatives and develop a conceptual design plan for protecting the Surfside Wastewater Treatment Plant from coastal erosion threats. The design will focus on the beach area in front of the vulnerable facility, aiming to safeguard critical wastewater operations, public health, and environmental safety.

Back in January 2024, several powerful winter storms with winds out of the south sent waves through the chain link fence at the edge of the wastewater treatment facility’s property line, as more than 40 feet worth of dunes was eroded. Later that month, the Nantucket Sewer Department began its initial response to the significant erosion by starting to fill in and close the southernmost sewer bed. Bulldozers moved more than 10,000 cubic yards of dirt necessary to fill the bed.

The Surfside Wastewater Treatment Facility Dune Restoration Conceptual Design and Long-Term Planning project is part of the Commonwealth’s broader $3.8 million investment in helping coastal communities across Massachusetts reduce risks from flooding, erosion, and storm impacts. For more information and to read the full press release from Governor Maura Healey’s office, click here.