NRCS Team: Salma Mehter, Elizabeth Isenstein, Madeleine Smith
2010-2011: In collaboration with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), this student team focused on stormwater remediation in Cape Cod, Massachusetts as part of the Cape Cod Water Resources Restoration Project. Stormwater runoff is a significant source of pollution for many shellfish beds throughout Cape Cod and coastal Massachusetts, leading to closures that negatively impact the local economy.
The team’s project entailed three primary components: a current practices review, a treatment guide, and a site-specific design. The team synthesized the Massachusetts Stormwater Handbook’s best management practices into an accessible Current Practices Review (CPR) focused on coastal conditions. Using the CPR, the team created a Treatment Guide and accompanying Decision Tree to enable Cape Cod towns to select an appropriate stormwater treatment system for their needs. The team then applied this Decision Tree to the Ellis Road town line site in Eastham, MA, selecting the appropriate treatment options and designing the site-specific system that combined porous pavement, deep sump catch basins, and a dry well. The team documented their design in construction drawings, specifications, and a cost estimate.
Funding for the Eastham project has already been allocated; construction is in process. The CPR and Treatment Guide will benefit other towns on Cape Cod, improving water quality and reducing shellfish bed closures.