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Massachusetts Estuaries Project Massachusetts Estuaries Project Linked Watershed-Embayment Model to Determine Critical Nitrogen Loading Thresholds for Sesachacha Pond, Town of Nantucket, Massachusetts Quidnet Sesachahcha Pond Hoicks Hollow University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Massachusetts Department of School of Marine Science and Technology Environmental Protection FINAL REPORT – NOVEMBER 2006 Massachusetts Estuaries Project Linked Watershed-Embayment Model to Determine Critical Nitrogen Loading Thresholds for Sesachacha Pond, Town of Nantucket Nantucket Island, Massachusetts FINAL REPORT – NOVEMBER 2006 Brian Howes Roland Samimy David Schlezinger Sean Kelley John Ramsey Mark Osler Ed Eichner Contributors: US Geological Survey Don Walters and John Masterson Applied Coastal Research and Engineering, Inc. Elizabeth Hunt Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Charles Costello and Brian Dudley (DEP manager) SMAST Coastal Systems Program George Hampson and Sara Sampieri Cape Cod Commission Xiaotong Wu © [2006] University of Massachusetts All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Massachusetts Estuaries Project Technical Team would like to acknowledge the contributions of the many individuals who have worked tirelessly for the restoration and protection of the critical coastal resources of the Nantucket Harbor System. Without these stewards and their efforts, this project would not have been possible. First and foremost is the significant time and effort in data collection and discussion spent by members of the Town of Nantucket Water Quality Monitoring Program, particularly Dave Fronzuto and its Coordinator, Keith Conant and former Coordinator, Tracey Curley. These individuals gave of their time to collect nutrient samples from this system over many years and without this information, the present analysis would not have been possible. A special thank you is extended to Richard Ray of the Town of Nantucket Health Department for all the assistance provided over the years thus making this report as specific as possible to the Island. In addition, over the years, the Town of Nantucket Shellfish and Marine Department has worked tirelessly with SMAST Coastal Systems Staff, engineers from Applied Coastal Research and Engineering, and the Cape Cod Commission towards the development of a restoration and management strategy for this system over the past decade. The Marine Department has also provided important support to the present MEP effort. The technical team would also like to specifically acknowledge the efforts of Cormac Collier of the Nantucket Land Council and Andrew Vorce, Director of the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission for facilitating the land use analysis effort within the MEP. A special thanks is given to Linda Holland the prior Director of the Nantucket Land Council who played a key role in promoting scientifically based management of Nantucket's estuarine systems throughout the 1990's. In addition to local contributions, technical, policy and regulatory support has been freely and graciously provided by Dr. Tony Millham of the Lloyd Center for Environmental Studies who provided previously collected data on pond elevations. Tom Cambareri and Margo Fenn of the Cape Cod Commission; MaryJo Feurbach, Art Clark and Nora Conlon of the USEPA; and our MADEP colleagues: Andrew Gottlieb (now at ODC), Arleen O’Donnell, Art Screpetis, Rick Dunn, Steve Halterman, and Russ Issacs. We are also thankful for the long hours in the field and laboratory spent by the technical staff (Paul Henderson, Nat Donkin, George Hampson), interns and students within the Coastal Systems Program at SMAST-UMD. Support for this project was provided by the Town of Nantucket (Shellfish and Marine Department), Barnstable County, MADEP, and the USEPA. CITATION Howes B., S. W. Kelley, M. Osler, J. S. Ramsey, R. Samimy, D. Schlezinger, E. Eichner (2006). Linked Watershed-Embayment Model to Determine Critical Nitrogen Loading Thresholds for Sesachacha Pond, Town of Nantucket, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Massachusetts Estuaries Project, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Boston, MA. © [2006] University of Massachusetts All Rights Reserved Massachusetts Estuaries Project TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................1 I.1 THE MASSACHUSETTS ESTUARIES PROJECT APPROACH ........................................6 I.2 SITE DESCRIPTION...........................................................................................................9 I.3 NUTRIENT LOADING .......................................................................................................12 I.4 WATER QUALITY MODELING.........................................................................................13 I.5 REPORT DESCRIPTION..................................................................................................14 II. PREVIOUS STUDIES RELATED TO NITROGEN MANAGEMENT.....................................15 III. DELINEATION OF WATERSHEDS .....................................................................................24 III.1 BACKGROUND...............................................................................................................24 III.2 SESACHACHA POND CONTRIBUTORY AREAS .........................................................24 IV. WATERSHED NITROGEN LOADING TO EMBAYMENT: LAND USE, STREAM INPUTS, AND SEDIMENT NITROGEN RECYCLING....................................................27 IV.1 WATERSHED LAND USE BASED NITROGEN LOADING ANALYSIS .........................27 IV.1.1 Land Use and Water Use Database Preparation.....................................................28 IV.1.2 Nitrogen Loading Input Factors................................................................................30 IV.1.3 Calculating Nitrogen Loads ......................................................................................34 IV.2 ATTENUATION OF NITROGEN IN SURFACE WATER TRANSPORT.........................38 IV.2.1 Background and Purpose.........................................................................................38 IV.3 BENTHIC REGENERATION OF NITROGEN IN BOTTOM SEDIMENTS..................38 IV.3.1 Sediment-Watercolumn Exchange of Nitrogen ........................................................38 IV.3.2 Method for determining sediment-watercolumn nitrogen exchange.........................39 IV.3.3 Rates of Summer Nitrogen Regeneration from Sediments ......................................42 Sesachacha Pond................................................................................................................44 V. HYDRODYNAMIC MODELING ............................................................................................47 V.1 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................47 V.1.1 System Physical Setting............................................................................................47 V.1.2 System Hydrodynamic Setting ...................................................................................48 V.2 GEOMORPHIC AND ANTHROPOGENIC EFFECTS TO THE SYSTEM .......................49 V.2.1 Pond Management Practices .....................................................................................49 V.2.2 Shoreline Change Analysis ........................................................................................50 V.3 HYDRODYNAMIC FIELD DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS...................................51 V.3.1. Bathymetry ................................................................................................................53 V.3.2 Tide Data...................................................................................................................53 V.4 HYDRODYNAMIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT..................................................................53 V.4.1 Modeling flow through a breach ................................................................................54 V.4.2 Modeling the breach at Sesachacha Pond.................................................................59 V.4.3 RMA2 model theory...................................................................................................59 V.4.4 RMA2 model development........................................................................................60 V.5. FLUSHING CHARACTERISTICS...................................................................................62 VI. WATER QUALITY MODELING ............................................................................................63 VI.1 DATA SOURCES FOR THE MODEL .............................................................................63 VI.1.1 Hydrodynamics and Tidal Flushing in the Embayments ..........................................63 VI.1.2 Nitrogen Loading to the Embayments ......................................................................63 i Massachusetts Estuaries Project VI.1.3 Measured Nitrogen Concentrations in the Embayments..........................................64 VI.2 MODEL DESCRIPTION AND APPLICATION ................................................................64 VI.2.1 Model Formulation.....................................................................................................65 VI.2.1.1 Dispersion Model ...............................................................................................65 VI.2.1.2 Mass Balance Model..............................................................................................66
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