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attenuation during transport through natural aquatic systems (e.g. ponds, rivers,
<br /> wetlands, etc.) prior to discharge to the embayment." (Volume 2, Appendix 11,
<br /> Page 1, M.E.P. report) _
<br /> "As the primary stakeholder to the Popponesset Bay System, the Town of
<br /> Mashpee was the first community to become concerned over perceived degradation of
<br /> Bay waters. (Page 3, M.E.P. report)
<br /> "The primary ecological threat to Popponesset Bay embayment system as a
<br /> coastal resource is degradation resulting from nutrient enrichment. " (Page 1,
<br /> M.E.P. Report) . . . .The primary nutrient causing the increasing impairment of the
<br /> Commonwealth's coastal embaymentsis nitrogen and the primary sources of this
<br /> nitrogen are wastewater disposal, fertilizers, and changes in the freshwater
<br /> hydrology associated with development". . . . . . ."result is the loss of fisheries
<br /> habitat, eelgrass beds. . . . (Page 4, M.E.P. report) -
<br /> -"The Town of Mashpee has been among the fastest growing towns in the -
<br /> Commonwealth over the past two decades. . . . . . .the nitrogen loading to the Bay
<br /> results primarily fromon-sitedisposal of wastewater. . . . . .As existing and
<br /> probable increasing levels of nutrients impact Mashpee' s coastal embayments, water
<br /> quality degradation will accelerate, with further harm to invaluable environmental
<br /> resources". (Page 3, M.E.P. report)
<br /> The "Massachusetts 2004 Integrated List of Waters" (Volume 3, Appendix 17)
<br /> includes the following impaired waters located in the Popponesset Bay system that
<br /> are listed under "Massachusetts Category 5 Waters: Waters requiring a TMDL":
<br /> Popponesset Bay (nutrients) , The Mashpee River (Nutrients) , Santuit Pond
<br /> (nutrients) , Shoestring Bay (nutrients) .
<br /> NOTE: The Town of Mashpee is facing substantial additional development with
<br /> accompanying increasing levels of nutrient loading. Town Planner Tom Fudala
<br /> prepared a listing of these proposed future developments. The list, entitled
<br /> "Developments Permitted or Proposed, .12-04", and its accompanying map are included
<br /> in this submission labeled Map #
<br /> The largest source of freshwater to Waquoit eBay, shared with the town of Falmouth,
<br /> is the Quashnet/Moonakis River which originates inJohnsPond in Mashpee and
<br /> traverses forests, cranberry bogs, residential areas and the Quashnet Valley Golf
<br /> Club before joining the Bay near its head. The Childs River, which also originates
<br /> in Johns Pond, is the second largest source of freshwater to Waquoit Bay. Many
<br /> diverse waters connect to this Bay: Hamblin and Jehu Ponds, brackish ponds via
<br /> Little and Great Rivers; Sage Lot Pond and Flat Pond, brackish waters connected to
<br /> each other and to the Bay via sections of the Quashnet/Moonakis River.
<br /> (Reference: Volume 4, Appendix 18, "The Ecology. of Waquoit Bay", page I-1,
<br /> Margaret Geist, Editor) .
<br /> The impacts from excess nitrogen loading to the Waquoit Bay estuarine complex
<br /> (loss of eelgrass, decreased water clarity, overgrowth of phytoplankton and
<br /> seaweeds at the expense of seagrasses, decreased oxygen in bottom waters,
<br /> increasing incidence of fish kills, algae blooms and unpleasant odors) have been
<br /> well documented in numerous past studies and reports.
<br /> References: Volume 4, Appendix 18, "The Ecology of Waquoit Bay", Page VI, Margaret
<br /> Geist, Editor, and Volume 2, Appendix 10, "Cape Cod Watershed Assessment and .
<br /> Action Plan, Massachusetts Watershed Initiative, MA Executive Office of
<br /> Environmental Affairs, Final Draft-February, 2003"
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