Ben and Amy Pirri thought reopening Ferns, a cherished general store in Carlisle, Massachusetts, that served the town for more than 180 years before closing in 2025, would be fairly straightforward. But as The Boston Globe reported, the sewage problem they faced ran deeper than their own building.
Here’s what to know
According to The Boston Globe, the Pirris discovered the property depended on a composting toilet because the lot was too small for a conventional septic system without risking nearby wells.
That finding pushed them beyond Ferns itself and toward an issue in the village center. Small parcels, older septic systems, and closely spaced wells have fueled contamination worries for years.
In 2016, testing at the library found nitrates above drinking-water limits. The Globe also reported E. coli detections at Ferns and Town Hall in 2021 and 2023, and in the school’s well this fall…