Tailwater is a water retention pond located downstream from hydraulic structures such as dams and connected bodies of water. A tailwater pond will be an integral part of bog construction planned by Decas Cranberry Company at their 109 Neck Road property in Rochester.
Brian Grady of G.A.F. Engineering returned to the Rochester Conservation Commission on September 15 to discuss in greater detail this aspect and others of the massive agricultural project.
The tailwater pond and associated bogs abut Long Pond that is contiguous to Snipatuit Pond, placing it within the jurisdiction of the commission. The scope of the project will require several meetings with the commission before they will be able to accept the project and provide construction conditions.
On this night, the 23-acre tailwater pond’s capability to retain and recycle bog water was discussed. Grady said, “The tailwater pond is a small project area, and we don’t feel it will have any impact to Snipatuit or Long Pond or to Mattapoisett’s River Valley.”
Grady said the total bog area will be decreased by 3.2 acres, which translates to decreased water consumption. He said this site has been consistently used for agricultural activities for nearly 100 years and a long history provides sufficient data on water consumption.
That simple statement didn’t quite sit well with several commission members as they probed Grady for more details on the volume of water the tailwater pond will hold and the manner in which it will interact with Long Pond. He said the tailwater pond would provide water conservation when completed and provided additional data.
Commission member Laurene Gerrior asked about the dye test data in the multi-page narrative G.A.F. had written for the commission. She learned that the dye test is used to measure flow speed, especially when assessing the movement of chemicals through the bog system.
Conservation Agent Laurell Farinon said the Mattapoisett River Valley Water Supply Protection Advisory committee had aired consistent concerns about the river valley’s headwaters, Snipatuit and Long Ponds. With that in mind, she listed the items G.A.F. needed to provide for the next meeting on the project. Those items are: a document detailing best practices; water management act permit; pulling back the grading on one corner of the site; linear footage of the tailwater pond; and relative volume of the pond.
Farinon also suggested a pre-construction meeting with all involved parties to ensure that all expectations are met saying, “Being more conservative from the start is better on projects like this.”
The commission approved a continuation until October 6.
On a different note, Gerrior asked the other members if it was time to put out a call to the public for associate members. The commissioners agreed it was prudent to have people ready to step in and that being an associate member gave a person the opportunity to learn the ropes and ease into full member status. Farinon said anyone interested in finding out more about becoming a commissioner should contact her directly.
Farinon also announced an Open Space meeting scheduled for October 5 at 7:00 pm in the Rochester Memorial School at which time SRPEDD will give a presentation that will include the results of surveys sent in by residents. She urged the commissioners to attend the meeting.
The next meeting of the Rochester Conservation Commission is scheduled for October 5 at 7:00 pm at Rochester Town Hall.
By Marilou Newell
