The Town of Barnstable, joined by public officials and community partners, broke ground on Tuesday, October 28, 2025 on the Straightway Water Treatment Facility Project – a major investment in the municipally owned Hyannis Water System that will strengthen the delivery of clean and reliable drinking water to Hyannis residents and businesses.
Led by State Representative Steven Xiarhos (5th Barnstable District), State Representative Kip Diggs (2nd Barnstable District), and Brian Harrington, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Deputy Regional Director of the Bureau of Water Resources, public officials met in Hyannis yesterday morning for a ceremonial “first dig” recognizing the collaborative efforts and investment being made to ensure a robust and sustainable water supply for generations to come.
“Residents in Barnstable are fortunate to have individuals in this town who are focused on protecting public health and ensuring that there are sufficient quantities of clean, safe drinking water,” said MassDEP Deputy Regional Director, Brian Harrington. “From installing seasonal treatment to meet summer demand, while reducing and eliminating PFAS all before we had a limit that they were required to meet, they [Hyannis Water System] did this voluntarily in protection of their own citizens. The Town’s quick action maximized their ability to leverage state funding…and most importantly provided public health protection for the more than 7,000 homes and businesses served by this district.”
The Straightway Water Treatment Facility Project supports multiple Town and Commonwealth goals aimed at protecting public health and ensuring long-term water reliability. Overall, the project aims to maximize the permitted capacity of the Hyannis Water System; increase the amount of water that wells can provide; allow the water treatment facility to be operated year-round; improve the water treatment process to further enhance water quality; protect the wells and buildings from flooding; and improve overall system resiliency.
The project has been made possible through strong State and local support, including financing from the Massachusetts Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF).
Barnstable Town Council President Craig Tamash added, “the system that existed 20 years ago is ancient history to the water system we have today. It [Hyannis Water System] has come so far, the issues it has confronted, and the process it has taken to overcome challenges like PFAS, is truly amazing. Barnstable Town Council is proud to be a part of this project and its ability to appropriate funds to support clean water.”
Mark Ells, Barnstable Town Manager, touched upon the significance of this collective investment stating that, “this project lays out the future commitment that we have to providing the best drinking water on Cape Cod, here for the people of Hyannis and more broadly within the Town of Barnstable…and this doesn’t happen alone, it is always a ‘we’ that makes things happen.”
Construction of the new treatment facility is expected to take three years, with an anticipated completion of Spring 2028. While work will be contained onsite, at 228 Straightway, Hyannis, ongoing outreach efforts have informed the community to expect increased construction vehicle traffic in and around the area. For ongoing updates, please visit: https://bit.ly/straightwayproject
If you have any questions please contact Kelly Collopy, Communications Manager for the Department of Public Works at kelly.collopy@town.barnstable.ma.us or at 508-790-6400.
