Wareham has been awarded two environmental grants by the state to help protect and preserve the town’s natural ecosystems.

The first grant is for $75,000 that will be put toward working with the Buzzards Bay Coalition to permanently protect 215 acres in Wareham. The coalition has been working to acquire the land which had been used as a cranberry farm and convert it into a conservation area.

Once acquired, the coalition plans on conserving the land for the protection of the Weweantic River corridor. The coalition also plans on opening it for public use with the potential for adding trails for hiking and kayaking.

The second grant is for $98,637 and this will help Wareham conduct a study to evaluate the planned increased wastewater flows from the town's Water Pollution Control Facility.

The Sewer Commissioner has been working with consulting firm GHD to update the Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan. For environmental and public health purposes, the town's municipal sewer system needs to be able to process 3 million gallons of wastewater flow per day, said Anastasia Rudenko, an environmental engineer with GHD. Currently, the system processes 2 million gallons of water per day.

The wastewater from the pollution control facility is released into the Agawam River and the town will use the money to determine if the river could handle an increased volume of wastewater coming from a planned sewer expansion.

The expansion would feature increased levels of treatment to the water without degrading water quality and the study will look into moving the outfall location currently at the Agawam River.