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PRINT,. From;Juan A.Bacigatupi To: Robert Whritenour Date:2!9196 Time:09:46:08 <br /> Page 8 of 9 <br /> r <br /> r <br /> of Fisheries and Wildlife about the coastal plain pond,Shore community and other rare species <br /> habitats and potential impacts from changes in the patterns and magnitudes of surface water <br /> levels and stream flows. <br /> h. Discharge of Treated Qroundwater to Surface Waters. System designers should not <br /> allow large amounts of water discharge to raise the levels of Johns Pond above natural <br /> conditions. Large outflows of warm surface water to the Quashnet or Childs River could have <br /> severe negative impacts to the trout populations in these groundwater fed coastal streams. <br /> Some discharge of treated groundwater to these streams could be beneficial if the cold,well- <br /> oxygenated water was introduced by upwelling from the stream bed through a fine gravel <br /> substrate. This would create increase potential spawning areas for wild brook trout. <br /> Introductions of treated groundwater could have major impacts on pond stratification <br /> and nutrient cycling. Ashumet and Johns Pond have a well-defined stratification during the <br /> summer and winter months and large influxes of water different from ambient conditions could <br /> disrupt these stratification patterns. <br /> VII. Summary Comments <br /> OPTECH should modify the proposed 60%design plan to reduce the major disruptions to the <br /> Upper Cape aquifer predicted by the withdrawal of 24 to 27.5 million gallons of contaminated <br /> groundwater per day and distant infiltration of the treated water. The original plume response plan <br /> recognized the importance of minixr'ing large scale changes in water levels and flow by reinjecting <br /> the groundwater at the toe of each plume. The present 60%design could cause unacceptable changes <br /> in water levels, especially in the late summer and fall of drought years. OPTECH must modify this <br /> design to reduce the magnitude of the changes to the aquifer. Cape Cod's ponds and rivers should not <br /> have to trade the negative impacts of the Massachusetts Military Reservations pollution plumes for the <br /> negative impacts of large changes in water levels and stream flow. <br /> 7 <br />