Shellfish Upweller Wins Big State Grant

 CHATHAM – There are a lot of potential benefits from the planned multi-use waterfront facility at 90 Bridge St., which aims to boost the economy, preserve history and support recreational and commercial fishermen. But it also will help keep local food on the table for Lower Cape families — and that argument resonated with state officials who recently awarded the town $730,620 through a grant program that supports food security.

 The heart of the project is a new shellfish upweller that replaces the tired and outdated one currently housed at Old Mill Boat Yard, where seed quahogs and other shellfish are grown in size before being released to the wild for eventual harvest.

 “Chatham’s shellfish propagation program is the backbone of our local shellfisheries,” Natural Resources Director Greg Berman wrote in an announcement of the grant. “It sustains year-round livelihoods for commercial harvesters, supports affordable recreational harvesting for residents, and helps keep our coastal ecosystem productive and resilient.” Local shellfishers provide an important year-round source of fresh, home-grown protein, he said.

 The state’s department of agricultural resources administers a Food Security Infrastructure Grant (FSIG) program that supports initiatives that provide more equitable access to locally grown, raised, harvested and caught foods by strengthening the local food supply chain. The program fully funded the town’s $730,620 request, which will pay for the pumps, generators, plumbing, tanks, silos, fittings and other equipment that will be installed in the historic Coast Guard boathouse that will be renovated and placed atop a new pier near the Mitchell River drawbridge.

 Berman said the project team has been focused on identifying grant opportunities for the project in order to reduce the financial burden on Chatham taxpayers, including Seaport Economic Council grants and outside-the-box opportunities like the food security grant.

 “While the FSIG may not have been a natural fit for earlier phases, it aligns perfectly with the seawater pumping system and interior build-out of the upweller,” he said. 

 “This opportunity was recognized by Renee Gagne, the town’s shellfish constable, and successfully developed with support from Catherine Ricks, coastal resilience director, and Jason Holm, harbormaster,” Berman said. “Their teamwork helped secure this important funding to advance the project and strengthen Chatham’s shellfish program.”

 The current upweller at Old Mill Boat Yard is outdated and undersized and is prone to contamination from any spills at the adjacent town boat ramp. The new system at 90 Bridge St. will provide better water quality, more space and reliable backup power to keep the pumps operating during outages. Voters have already authorized full funding for the estimated $11 million project, which includes a new pier with floating docks for recreational and commercial boaters and space for the renovated boathouse. 

 The town purchased the land in 2014 and installed a small pier; last year, crews finished dredging the area just offshore, and a new bulkhead was installed to shore up the property. Construction of the pier is now underway, which will clear the way for the final phase of the project: installation of the historic boathouse. The project team has been working closely with the owner of the boathouse, who intends to donate it to the town. The structure is ready to be moved from its storage location in Quincy, Berman said. Originally, crews planned to remove the building’s floor in Quincy, but they have determined that the site doesn’t provide enough space for that work to be done safely.

 “The town is now exploring the option of moving the boathouse to a secondary location where the floor can be removed before transporting it to Chatham for placement directly on the newly constructed pier,” Berman said. While it would be possible to have the boathouse brought directly to 90 Bridge St., doing so would limit public access to the site during the upcoming season, he said.

 “The town’s goal is to open (and keep open) the extension pier for public use as soon as possible. Any remaining construction would be limited to the upweller pier area,” Berman said. “More information is expected within the next couple of weeks, and an updated donor agreement will be presented to the select board once details are finalized.”