MASHPEE – Mashpee selectmen received an update recently on the town’s Stormwater Management Project that featured an educational presentation by environmental scientist Gabrielle Belfit of the consulting group Tighe & Bond.
The project, which is entering the fourth year of a five-year cycle under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NDPES) permit program, applies to all publicly owned sewer systems within the municipality.
According to Belfit, the project has outlined measures to help restore impaired water bodies in the area, including Santuit Pond and Ashumet Pond, which have excess levels of phosphorus, and Hamblin Pond and Jacob Pond, which have high levels of nitrogen.
“Everyone is very aware that Santuit and Ashumet are impaired for phosphorus, those are going to get a lot of attention in planning years four and five,” said Belfit.
The town plans to provide additional public education messaging, increase street sweeping, retrofit drainage systems and optimize nitrogen and phosphorus removal in town owned properties.
Belfit also announced that the project has finalized an outfall map for the town, which classified and prioritized points of interest in the town’s implementation of their cleanup strategy.
The town is implementing a municipal good housekeeping program to include an inventory of 37 municipal sites and facilities where activities occur which may impact stormwater.
They will also identify what operational and maintenance plans should be in place for each facility, which may include building maintenance, employee training and documentation of runoff inspections.
The town has applied for an asset management grant to aid in their cleanup efforts, including the purchase of culverts to expand inspection efforts prioritizing infrastructure improvement.
“We’ll know about the outcome of that at the end of this year,” said Belfit.
“And that’s really going to help a lot, because that’s one task that we can lift off of the DPW for having to fund.”
After the presentation, Belfit answered questions from the public on details of the project.
By, Matthew Tomlinson, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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