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<br />2. Discussion of APCC State of the Waters Report and Potential Impact on Mashpee Sewer Plan – Andrew <br />Gottlieb. <br />Mr. Gottlieb presented a summary of the annual state of the waters report. He stated that this is the fifth <br />annual report and that it evaluates the quality of the water in the estuaries, fresh water ponds and drinking <br />water supplies across Cape Cod using publically available data. <br />He reported that on the embayment side the waters are the same as last year. 90% of the embayments on <br />Cape Cod show poor water quality. Every South facing estuary on Cape Cod, except for one facing Buzzards, <br />Bay exhibit poor water quality. Five years ago 68% of the estuaries failed to meet standards and we are now <br />at 90%. <br />He went on to report that 37% of the ponds that are being monitored exhibit poor water quality. <br />He stated that news is better on public water supplies. 19 of the 21 public water supply systems on Cape Cod <br />provided excellent water quality results. <br />The only station in Mashpee bays that is exhibiting good water quality is at the mouth of Waquoit Bay. There <br />were no stations in Popponesset Bay exhibiting good water quality. He said that the only major water body <br />within the town that did not fail their water quality standard is John’s Pond. The ponds that failed were all <br />caused by Cyanobacteria blooms. <br />Mr. Gottlieb went on to state that the overall water quality in the Town of Mashpee isn’t radically different <br />than most of the Towns on the Cape. He said the factors that are driving the declining water quality are <br />inadequately treated wastewater, septic system loadings, storm water and fertilizer run off. <br />He directed anyone interested in viewing the report to visit Capecodwaters.org. <br />Co-Chair Harris asked if any Towns have been able to show water quality improvement in the 5 years the data <br />has been collected. Mr. Gottlieb said that they have seen some modest improvement in two of the Barnstable <br />Harbor stations. He said most of the interventions are in the early stages and they expect to see this picture <br />to stay similar for several years. <br />Chair Smith asked if any of the stations within close proximity to aquaculture permitted sites has seen any <br />improvement. Mr. Gottlieb replied no. He said a lot of the aquaculture sites have been challenged by <br />declining water quality. The aquaculture program was never a replacement for broad scale infrastructure <br />development. <br />Co-Chair Harris asked if the path of the 2015 plan is heading in the direction that we should be going. Mr. <br />Gottlieb respond that the underlying premise of the 2015 plan remains valid as it concentrates the initial <br />investments on the areas where we will get the greatest return in terms of nitrogen loading for money spent. <br />Susan Dangel asked Mr. Gottlieb to comment on the fact that none of the ponds showing in red has any sewer <br />plans in the near future. She stated that the ponds are at the top of the watershed and the headwaters of the <br />rivers feed the bays come from those ponds. Mr. Gottlieb stated that no Town on the Cape has a water <br />quality plan that is focused specifically on lake remediation. He stated that Mashpee has most of the lake <br />shores in Phases 3, 4 and 5 and did so predicated on what was needed to reduce nitrogen loading in Waquoit <br />and Popponesset Bays not what would be done to improve the lakes and ponds. <br />Wendy Williams stated that she is unable to find any published data of UMass Dartmouth research studies. <br />She said she is seeking published research studies and juried publications. She asked Mr. Gottlieb to direct her <br />to the published science studies and the Chief Scientist of the project. Mr. Gottlieb stated that the UMass <br />reports were provided to the individual Towns and that they are a matter of public record. He stated that the <br />reports were done according to a protocol established, reviewed and approved by both Mass DEP and the <br />United States Environmental Protection Agency. He stated that the County ran a peer review process from <br />2012 to 2015 on a number of the UMass Dartmouth reports and the whole process is a matter of public record <br />and can be obtained by the Cape Cod Commission as well as at the respective Town Halls. <br />Ms. Williams asked to be put in touch with the Chief Scientist of the project and the Commission agreed to get <br />her the information. <br /> <br /> <br />3 <br /> <br /> <br />