Island officials hope a new Martha's Vineyard Commission report that explores ways to cut down the amount of nitrogen pollution in up-Island ponds could serve as a blueprint for local planners.

Updates to the state's Title 5 regulations that were originally proposed for the Cape, South Coast and the Islands will now only go into effect on Cape Cod, state officials said this week.

The Dukes County commission voted this week to dedicate $1.4 million to help all seven towns in the county install septic systems designed to prevent nitrogen from seeping into fragile saltwater ponds.

As a tectonic shift in state wastewater regulations is under consideration by state officials, Island homeowners and towns are bracing for what could be millions of dollars in mandatory upgrades in the coming years.

Lagoon Pond and just outside of the Lagoon Pond Bridge was closed to shellfishing after a sewer pipe broke at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital Tuesday.

As coastal ponds and estuaries continue to deteriorate throughout the Cape and Islands, the DEP has proposed a pair of wastewater regulation amendments that could have sweeping impacts across the region.

The Edgartown wastewater treatment facility has dramatically curtailed its capacity for taking pumpouts from septic systems in recent months, forcing septic haulers to scramble.

A detailed look at the work of the man who keeps Island septic systems tuned up and running at peak performance.

Without wastewater treatment facilities, Island ponds could be in worse shape. Estuaries suffer from nitrogen overload, coming mostly from septic systems that remove bacteria but not nitrogen.

A few hundred alternative systems are installed on Martha's Vineyard, mostly in Edgartown and Oak Bluffs. The technology could help achieve nitrogen mitigation in Island coastal ponds.