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MASHPEE – At a recent Mashpee select board meeting, officials heard presentations highlighting multiple ways to address phosphorus load in pond sediment at Santuit Pond.
Water scientist from TMDL Solutions Ed Eichner outlined the possible solutions for the issue, as well as possible costs to the town.
“The cost of phosphorus removal per kilogram is very low compared to a lot of other methods that may be done in the water shed, generally a few hundred dollars per kilogram of phosphorus removed. Where as some of these other methods are thousands or tens of thousands of dollars per kilogram of phosphorus removed,” said Eichner.
The presentation also showed findings of low dissolved oxygen in the pond, which can severely impact the fish population.
Conditions could continue to worsen as warmer weather approaches, which causes increased aspiration from the marine wildlife and depletes more oxygen.
One of the methods that could help the situation that was spoken about in the presentation was adding alum to the water.
“Generally speaking once they’re in the pond environment, if you follow what we’ve learned over the last 20-30 years of doing alum treatments, they are very safe to use,” Eichner said.
Officials said they would continue to investigate the solutions outlined in the study, including how much it could cost for the town.
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