b"C H A P T E R F O U RStage Harbor in 2002, looking south.As picturesque as any of Chathams waterways, it has much in common with many of the other water bodies in town:it has not been able to avoid the ominous spread of pollution draining into it from mans homes and activities on shore.Gordon ZellnerOn that first board, you would have found no skeptics about the threat of pollution. In her report to the executive committee that November, Martha Stone told of coliform measurements running from 350, to 540, to 1,600 at three different sites. An acceptable level, she had learned, was 70. And evidences of that threat could be seen with the naked eye. Recalls Mrs.Kimball,Several people did an informal 'shoreline survey around the harbor and found toilet paper. They were really horrified. We realized that ouractions on land directly affected the harbor.It could easily be inferred, she said, that Drainage from malfunctioningYale-educated architect septic systems would bring harmful bacteria to theTheodore (Sam) harbor and beaches, impacting public health, shellfish,Streibert, member of the Friends board at the and recreational values. start, agreed to map As she looked back to those first days andproperties along Stage weeks, Mrs. Kimball recalled in 2001: I felt we oughtHarbor and Oyster Pond to know the conditions of septic systems. If townsto back up the organizations explorlike Newton could require that smoke detectors be atory research projects.51"