Mark Forest Barnstable County Commissioner

03/28/2026

Protecting Cape Cod's Sole Source Aquifer is a priority of mine. The aquifer is actually made up of 6 underground water reservoirs or lenses.

The Sagamore Lens is the largest and it’s the source of drinking water for Falmouth, Bourne, Sandwich, Mashpee, Barnstable and Yarmouth.

The Sole Source Aquifer designation comes from the EPA

It’s a federal designation that means that Cape Cod depends on these 6 underground water reservoirs as our “sole source” of drinking water.

Each one needs to be protected, especially during a drought !

03/26/2026

Recording: The Unseen Lifeline: Groundwater’s Role in Cape Cod’s Ecosystem

Last Thursday, MASSTC took a deep dive into the hidden world beneath Cape Cod and celebrated National Groundwater Awareness Week. We learned a lot with groundwater experts Denis LeBlanc, Scientist Emeritus, and Marcel Belaval, Deputy Director, both with the U.S. Geological Survey’s New England Water Science Center at the helm.

If you weren't able to come to the event, we recorded it for you! It was a fantastic presentation and lots of attendees have written to us saying it was information that was easy to digest and very engaging.

Watch the recording to better understand how groundwater plays a huge role in our everyday life on Cape Cod as well as feeds our rivers, ponds, wetlands and marshes, coastal waters and estuaries as well as drinking water wells.

You'll be amazed!
Watch it on our YouTube page here: https://loom.ly/6kII_uk

03/26/2026

03/09/2026

Nice story on the great job at the shelters set up by the county and towns to help residents get through the Blizzard of 26.

Older family members praise workers and shelter experience during Cape Cod's blizzard aftermath. See link below ⬇️

📸 Susan Vaughn/Cape Cod Times

02/28/2026

Great Job !

02/27/2026

When a major storm hits Cape Cod, coordination across 15 towns doesn’t happen by chance.
It happens through the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee (BCREPC).

The BCREPC brings together local emergency managers, fire and police departments, public health, hospitals, utilities, transportation providers, human services, volunteer organizations like AmeriCorps Cape Cod and the American Red Cross, and state partners. Its purpose is simple: ensure that no Cape Cod community manages an emergency alone.

Throughout the year, these partners plan and prepare together.
During major events — like this historic winter storm — that coordination shifts into real time.

Today’s regional coordination call focused on:
• Shelter capacity and transportation to shelters
• Power restoration priorities, especially for critical facilities
• Hospital and healthcare system status
• Communications and telecommunications challenges
• Meal and volunteer support for impacted residents
• Ongoing situational awareness across all Cape towns

The Multi-Agency Coordination Center (MACC) remains active, supporting local communities, aligning resources, and sharing verified information across the region.

When you see shelters open, resources moving between towns, and consistent updates across Cape Cod — that is regional coordination at work.

Read the full Situation Report from today’s 4 PM regional coordination call: https://loom.ly/Z92In5o

02/27/2026

Storm Recovery Resources — One Central Place for Help

As Barnstable County continues recovering from the recent winter storm, we’ve created a dedicated Storm Recovery Resources page to bring everything together in one reliable place.

Residents can find:
• Open shelters & warming locations
• Food and essential resources
• Open gas stations across the Cape
• Cape Cod power outage tracking
• Hospital & healthcare facility updates
• Generator and heating safety guidance
• Daily Situation Reports (SitReps)

Our goal is simple: make it easier for residents to quickly find accurate, updated information during recovery. This page will continue to be refreshed as restoration progresses and new resources become available.

Please check it often and share with anyone who may need support.

🔗 Visit the Storm Recovery Resources page:
https://www.capecod.gov/post-storm-resources

Barnstable County continues working closely with local, regional, and nonprofit partners to support residents through recovery.

02/22/2026

Important story.

The Falmouth Board of Health urged the Select Board last week to form a committee to tackle what members called an urgent and inequitable distribution of wastewater and septic system costs, warning that residents could face sharply uneven—and in some cases, double—payments as the town embarks on more than $1 billion in water quality projects over the next several decades.

A joint meeting of the two boards was scheduled after the Board of Health sent letters to the Select Board requesting that it form the committee to find a way to more equitably distribute water quality management costs. Chairman of the Board of Health, Kevin D. Kroeger, said the time to do the “complex calculus” of determining how much and who will pay should be addressed now.

The sticking point is that some residents who are paying for best available nitrogen removal technology (BANRT) septic systems are essentially paying twice for municipal water quality improvements; once for municipal wastewater projects and again for systems on their own property. George P. Topulos estimated that in the next 2 to 30 years, the town will invest over a billion dollars in water quality mitigation measures, including sewer expansion and the ocean outfall.

🔗 Read more about the meeting, including short-term rental enforcement and traffic concerns in Woods Hole, at the link in the comments ⬇️

11/29/2025

11/18/2025

Yarmouth needs 🙏

Yarmouth Police and Fire departments are on the scene of a trench collapse with entrapment at a work site located at 152 South Shore Drive in South Yarmouth. Workers were trapped following the collapse.

What we know at this time:
One worker has been extricated, and rescue teams are currently providing lifesaving measures. Crews are still currently working the scene.

We ask the Media to please stage at the Parkers River Lodge on South Shore Drive.

We ask the public to avoid the area to allow emergency personnel to work safely and efficiently.

09/30/2025

A great day for Cape Cod.

🌊✂️ A big moment for Cape Cod!

Barnstable County just cut the ribbon on the newly expanded Clean Water Center at MASSTC in Sandwich. This isn’t just a building — it’s a hub for innovation, where local, state, federal, and global partners are working together to protect our bays, estuaries, and drinking water.

With new labs, training space, and the ability to test next-generation wastewater systems, the Center will drive solutions that safeguard Cape Cod and serve as a model for communities around the world.

Learn more ➡️ https://loom.ly/zxWk02s