The following Falmouth Enterprise article by Katie Nelson was published online 2/20/25 and in the Friday printed edition on 2/21/2025, page 1.
Marine Borings Start Next Week For Outfall Soil Testing
Marine boring work will be visible offshore near Kite Park, south of Falmouth Inner Harbor, starting on Thursday or Friday, depending on weather conditions. The borings are the next vital step in researching and designing the outfall pipe planned for West Falmouth. The outfall pipe will discharge treated wastewater into Vineyard Sound. If all permitting and construction goes to plan, the outfall has an estimated completion date of 2032.
At each boring location, subsurface soil will be collected by the drill. The soil will be analyzed and characterized, Wastewater Superintendent Amy A. Lowell said. The data collected from the soil samples will inform the materials and design used to construct the outfall pipe. Collecting subsurface soil this way avoids impacting marine habitats, Ms. Lowell said.
The six offshore marine borings will be done between 300 to 2,800 feet offshore. There will be one boring done on land in Kite Park, Ms. Lowell said. She added that the one onshore boring at Kite Park will create some noise, and work will be completed within two days. The park will be restored when work is completed, she said.
“Each boring will be six feet in diameter and approximately 100 feet deep,” Ms. Lowell said.
Residents will be able to see the jack-up barge from the shore. A crew will be on the jack-up barge 24 hours a day, and 12 hours of drilling can be expected each day.
Depending on weather, the barge, which is coming from Long Island, will likely be in place on Wednesday.
“This work is very weather dependent,” Ms. Lowell said.
As long as the weather cooperates, Ms. Lowell said work should be completed by March 24.