FALMOUTH – The construction of a permeable reactive barrier to help Falmouth’s nitrogen-reduction efforts could be funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The town’s participation in an EPA-funded groundwater study could result in the construction of the barrier.
The town was one of five on the Cape chosen by the agency to participate in the study.
The EPA will conduct groundwater tests in Fisherman’s Cove as part of its research into the effects of excess nitrogen on water quality throughout the region.
The first phase of the study will include the installation of five two-inch water monitoring wells in the shoulder of Sailfish Drive and an upstream monitoring well on Tarpon Road.
Installation is expected between January and March and will be installed on town land, locked and the tops will be level with the ground.
They will then be sampled twice in the spring and the EPA will submit a report of its findings in the summer.
In Fall 2016, the agency will then select two towns to continue the second phase of the study, which would call for the installation of more wells, and could lead to the installation of a barrier to mitigate the flow of nitrogen into the town’s waterways.
In 2013, Falmouth conducted groundwater tests to see if a barrier could be installed on Shorewood Drive.
The Cape Cod Water Protection Collaborative has funded $75,000 in the second phase of that testing, and the results will be presented at the town’s water quality management committee meeting today.
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