Wellfleet Board OKs temporary continued use of failed septic system at 210 Kendrick Ave with conditions

The Wellfleet Board of Health on July 8 voted to allow continued use of a failed septic system at 210 Kendrick Ave until the property connects to a future municipal sewer, provided several conditions intended to limit environmental risk.

Laura Schofield of Schofield Brothers, representing the property owners, told the board the April 2025 Title 5 inspection recorded a failure but that “the failure was technical in nature,” describing a roughly 4-inch shortfall in the required groundwater separation and noting the system components were operating and there was no surface discharge. Schofield said the parcel contains four condominium units and argued major upgrades now would cause substantial disruption for only a short-term benefit before sewer connections arrive.

Board members pressed for details about installation year and maintenance; the chair asked whether the system was installed in 1995 and about pumping frequency, and Schofield said she did not know the recent pump-out history but did not believe it had been pumped excessively. Committee members discussed public-health and nitrogen concerns and concluded a small groundwater-separation deficit presented a different risk profile than the more serious Title 5 failure criteria that involve backups or surface discharge.

Citing the town’s sewer planning, one member said the parcel qualified as part of a proposed sewer district and that the board’s local regulations allow temporary use in that circumstance. The motion approved by the board limits design flow, prohibits increases in habitable area or conversions without board approval, recommends annual pumping of a 1,000-gallon tank, requires connection to municipal water, and requires the property to conform to local regulations within two years if it is removed from the sewer plan. The board also amended the motion to include an administrative consent order that would obligate the property to come into compliance should it no longer be in a planned sewer area.

The vote was taken by voice and the motion, as amended, was approved. The board’s action allows the owners to delay an invasive and costly on-site upgrade until the sewer becomes available, while attaching compliance conditions and a formal administrative mechanism in case the sewer plan changes.