Minutes of 04/05/04 Meeting of the
Eastham Water Resources Advisory Board
Attending were members Weiss, chairperson, Whitmore, Holt, Nugent, Lightfoot, Boelitz and Bayne. The minutes of the 03/01/04 meeting were unanimously accepted as written.
Chair Weiss mentioned that he would distribute at the May meeting an article about perchlorate testing which will be required in Eastham.
He announced that a proposal has been made by the CCC for two water quality related grants which will include Eastham, both grants under the title Outer Cape Wastewater Management Project.
In the first, the CCC and the County Board of Health would conduct a study, worth $65,000, for the towns of Eastham, Wellfleet and Truro on water supply alternatives. This study would document water needs, identify water supply alternatives, and evaluate various institutional arrangements and approaches to implementing short and long term water supply solutions.
In the second, Eastham and Wellfleet, which both utilize on-site waste water systems and wells, would receive a $30,000 grant. This grant would pay for the services of the CCC in a study of the effectiveness of the towns’current alternative waste water system requirements for lots which require extensive variances from Title 5, and project a 20 year septic system replacement rate. That data will be compared to the projected effectiveness of other alternative waste water systems, such as clustered ones, in the context of Eastham’s and Wellfleet’s particular situations, helping both towns chart a course for waste water treatment regulation.
Weiss distributed the preliminary USGS report of their well site study. The sketches illustrate that at both the Roach property site and the District G site, high capacity wells pumping approximately a half million gpd would draw down stream flow at Hatches Creek to an unacceptable level; it is known that at the District H site, vernal pools would be affected. This result further reinforces the concept of many small capacity wells as an alternative.
Weiss also announced that there will be a final report on the USGS Lower Cape groundwater flow study at the Wellfleet Senior Center at 1 pm on May 12; this study includes the work on Eastham well sites.
Weiss raised the issue of the response rate for the first two phases of the voluntary well testing program. He reported that in response to the 3000 letters sent out, 1000 sample kits had been returned from North Eastham, and 750 from central Eastham. This is not an adequate sample. Possible solutions were considered, such as adding the data from mandatory rental unit water testing. This might be accomplished by the computer data entry person recently hired for the Health Department. Boelitz suggested that if this addition did not raise the number of returns to the significant level, the WRAB might go to the Board of Health to ask for mandatory testing for the purposes of this project, or at least for some advice on how to raise the return rate. Also considered was a second mailing done in summer with the kit included.
The meeting adjourned at 4:45.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandy Bayne, clerk
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