Wastewater

Tisbury Wastewater Treatment Facility

The Tisbury Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) is a 139,000 gallons-per-day (gpd) wastewater treatment plant located at 155 High Point Lane, Tisbury Massachusetts. The treatment plant processes the domestic and commercial wastewater from the Tisbury Sewer District, located primarily in the downtown area of Vineyard Haven between Main Street, Water Street, Lagoon Pond and Beach Road. The sewer system was built in 2004 to mitigate the adverse effects of private septic systems on the water quality of Lagoon Pond and Vineyard Haven Harbor. It consists of gravity sewer lines for Main, Center, Spring, and Church Street, and low-pressure sewer (grinder pumps) on Lagoon Pond,Beach Road, Union Street and Holmes Hole Road. The WWTF is currently undergoing an expansion project to allow for the future addition of the B-2 sewer district, located on State Road between Pine Tree Road and Holmes Hole Road. For maps of the current sewer district and proposed B-2 district, see the left hand tab.  

For Property Owners:

Please see the list of application forms on the left hand tab. All applications for a change of use, request for additional flow or new connections must be approved by the Sewer Advisory Board. For upcoming meeting dates, agendas and minutes of the Sewer Advisory Board, please check the left hand tab. 

Sewer bills are calculated from a customer's water usage, which is read from their water meter quarterly. Therefore, plumbing leaks can greatly increase your quarterly sewer bill. It is a good idea to make sure there are no leaky faucets, toilets, or small leaks in your basement or outside spigots, as even a small leak can add up to a very large bill. 

If you plan on using a substantial amount of outside water for irrigation, gardening, car washing, etc., you may want to apply for an abatement meter (see form on left tab). These meters deduct outside water use from your main water meter usage so it will not be added to your sewer bill. 

Some property owners on the Tisbury Sewer System have personal grinder pumps to convey their wastewater to the collection system. These are located on their properties and must be kept accessible to town employees at all times for regular maintenance and service calls. A blinking red light on top of the pump control panel indicates when there is an issue with the grinder pump. 

Please call the Communications Center at 508-693-1212 to report a flashing red light on your pump control panel. 

The grinder pumps can easily be clogged by non-flushable materials such as wet-wipes, diapers, rags, feminine products, etc. Please flush only toilet paper and do not pour any cooking oils down your drains. For more information on proper care for your grinder pumps, see the guide on the left hand tab. 

Property owners will be billed for service calls to their grinder pump stations caused by negligence at an hourly rate of $50 during day-time hours (7am-4pm, Monday-Friday) and a minimum of $150 during off-hours calls. 

Most emergency calls can be avoided by eliminating the flushing of all types of cleaning wipes, floss, plastic care products, and any fats, oil, and grease.  We ask that residents put these items into containers and into the trash rather than flushing or pouring them down the drain.

The Tisbury Board of Selectmen have approved rates and fees to ensure the fiscal viability of the Tisbury Wastewater Facility. Please see the current rates on the left hand tab.

Click here to view Sewer Advisory Committee Memo

 

 

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at:

phone: (508) 696-4220

email: tisburyww@tisburyma.gov

Staff Contacts

Name Title Phone
Mike Alberice Superintendent 508-696-4220 ext156
Melinda Byers Administrative Assistant 508-696-4220 ext 158
Eric Alexander Plant Operator (508) 696-4220 ext 156

Board Members

Name Title
Constance Alexander
Dan Seidman
Jeff Pratt Chair
Chris Scott
John Best
Tomar Waldman
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