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About the Project [new page] <br /> The WNMP is being completed in four phases: (1)Needs Assessment, (2) Technology <br /> Screening, (3) Alternative Scenarios Analysis and Site Evaluation, and (4) Recommended Plan. <br /> The phases are summarized on these pages. Details can be found in the reports for each phase, <br /> which can be viewed and downloaded from the Documents & Resources page. <br /> Overview <br /> Although present in the environment naturally,too much nitrogen is considered a pollutant. It is <br /> a nutrient that feeds aquatic plants, including algae,which consume oxygen as they grow and die <br /> off. When this happens, there is no longer enough oxygen in the water for aquatic life, causing <br /> fish kills and harming plants such as eelgrass that serve as a nursery for many important species. <br /> The decomposition of organic matter creates odors and is unsightly, resulting in growing layers <br /> of muck on the bottoms of our water bodies, impacting recreational uses such as swimming and <br /> boating, as well as the economic backbone of the Cape economy—tourism and fishing. <br /> The Massachusetts Estuaries Project (MEP) has estimated the maximum amount of a pollutant <br /> (in this case nitrogen) that each estuary in Mashpee can receive and still meet water quality <br /> standards. This is known as the Total Maximum Daily Load (or TMDL). The results of MEP <br /> studies have helped guide the Town's planning process. <br /> The WNMP focuses on specific estuaries. The Project Planning Area(PPA) includes the entire <br /> town of Mashpee,the Popponesset Bay watershed that extends into the towns of Barnstable and <br /> Sandwich, and the Waquoit Bay East watershed that extends into the towns of Falmouth and <br /> Sandwich. <br /> The Mashpee Sewer Commission hired the engineering firm GHD Inc. (formerly Stearns & <br /> Wheler, LLC)to prepare the WNMP working with the UMass-Dartmouth School of Marine <br /> Science and Technology (SMaST). Earlier phases of the plan were presented at Sewer <br /> Commission meetings for public review and comment. The Recommended Plan will meet the <br /> Town's future wastewater treatment needs while protecting the ponds and estuaries Mashpee <br /> shares with Barnstable, Falmouth and Sandwich. GHD, working with the Town and their other <br /> consultants, is developing the final scenarios analysis and will provide the Sewer Commission <br /> with a Recommended Plan for addressing the nitrogen loading impacts. <br /> 4 <br />