fVjc STUDY THE PEMBROKE PONDS: , LITTLE SANDY BOTTOM STETSON PONDS , MASSACHUSETTS EWVIRNMENlAL CONSULTANTS PC. I / I I I I DIAGNOSTIC/FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF I THE PEMBROKE PONDS, OLDHAM, FURNACE, LITTLE SANDY BOTTOM AND STETSON I PEMBROKE, MASSACHUSETTS I PREPARED FOR THE TOWN OF PEMBROKE I AND THE I MASSACHUSETTS DIVISION OF WATER POLLUTION CONTROL I UNDER MGL CHAP. 628 I MASSACHUSETTS CLEAN LAKES PROGRAM I BY BAYSTATE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS, INC. I 296 NORTH MAIN STREET I EAST LONGMEADOW, MASSACHUSETTS I I JANUARY 1993 I I I I I DISCLAIMER This report was funded under a cost sharing Substate Agreement I between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts through its Division of Water Pollution Control (Division), Clean Lakes Program (Chapter 628, Acts of 1981), and the Town of Pembroke. As stated in the Substate Agreement (Paragraph A.3.4), the Town is required to I submit a draft Final Report for the Division's review and comment. Subsequently, the Town must submit a Final Report that incorporates the Division's comments and corrections. Final payment of a 10% I retainage would be released upon acceptance of the Final Report by the Division (Paragraph 1.7 of the Substate Agreement). Prior to the completion of this Phase I project, most of the I resources and staff of the Clean Lakes program were reallocated by the Department of Environmental Protection. As one consequence of these actions, a thorough and timely review of this report was not I feasible. Since the Town and its subcontractor, Baystate Environmental Consultants, Inc., should not be burdened, unduly,^the Division adopted an interim procedure of checking draft final I reports solely to determine whether the scope of work (Appendix A of the Substate Agreement) had been met. This Draft Final Report has been checked by the Division, any discrepancies have been rectified by Baystate Environmental Consultants, Inc. and, at a I minimum, it does fulfill all requirements specified in the scope of work. The Division has, therefore, accepted this report in accordance with Paragraphs 1.7 and A. 3.4 of the Substate Agreement I and it has released the 10% retainage to the Town for subsequent reimbursement to Baystate Environmental Consultants, Inc. I It should be emphasized, however, that this report has not been subjected to a full and thorough review by the Division as in the past and, therefore, the quality and completeness of this report, and the assessments and recommendations contained therein, I represent primarily the work and judgements of Baystate I Environmental'Consultants, Inc. I I I I I I I I TABLE OF CONTENTS I PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 I DATA COLLECTION METHODS 3 PART I: DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT 7 I LAKE AND WATERSHED DESCRIPTION 7 Lake Description 7 Watershed Description 14 I Watershed Geology and Soils 19 Historical Lake and Land Use 30 I REGULAR MONITORING PROGRAM 33 Flow and Water Chemistry 33 Bacterial Monitoring 80 Secchi Transparency and Chlorophyll 81 I Comparison with DEP Data 83 Quality Control Program for Chemical Samples 84 I SPECIAL INVESTIGATION PROGRAMS 87 Camp Pembroke Wastewater Facility 87 Zaniboni Bog Wells 87 Sampling of Non-study Ponds 87 I Background Metals Analysis 92 Harvest Time Bog Survey 96 Storm Water Assessment 96 I Groundwater Investigation 108 Sediment Analysis 134 Recreation-induced Turbidity Survey 144 I Residential Practices Survey 158 BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS 163 Phytoplankton 163 I Macrophytes 169 Zooplankton 178 Macroinvertebrates 181 I Fish 181 HYDROLOGIC AND NUTRIENT BUDGETS 195 Hydrologic Budget 195 I Nutrient Budgets 201 Hydrologic and Nutrient Budget Summary 208 I DIAGNOSTIC SUMMARY 219 I I I I I PAGE PART II: FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT 223 EVALUATION OF MANAGEMENT OPTIONS 223 I Management Objectives 223 Available Techniques 223 I Evaluation of Viable Alternatives 226 • Recommended Management Approach 238 PROJECT COSTS 241 | PROJECT IMPACTS AND PERMITTING NEEDS 245 _ Impact of Recommended Management Approach 245 • Necessary Permits 246 * FOLLOW-UP MONITORING PROGRAM 249 i PUBLIC INPUT 251 FEASIBILITY SUMMARY 253 i REFERENCES 255 APPENDICES 259 i Appendix A: Field and Laboratory Methodology 259 Appendix B: Additional Data Collected by EEC 273 • Appendix C: Calculations 299 | Appendix D: Questionnaires, Meeting Summaries and Comments from Interested Parties 331 _ Appendix E: Educational Materials for Watershed I ResidentR«=»c:-i Hj=*n1-<s; 34~*.A7H • I I I I I I I I I I LIST OF TABLES I PAGE 1. Characteristics of the Pembroke Ponds and their Watersheds 8 2. Tributary Drainage Areas, Whitman and Howard 1965 16 3. Sub-Watersheds of the Pembroke Ponds 23 I 4. Watershed Areas of the Pembroke Ponds 24 5. Land Use in the Watersheds of the Pembroke Ponds by Area 26 6. Land Use in the Watersheds of the Pembroke Ponds by Percent 27 I 7. Soils in the Watersheds of the Pembroke Ponds 29 8. Pembroke Ponds Station Locations 35 9. Parameters to be Assessed 36 I 10. Flow in CFS 38 11. Flow in Cu.M/Min. 39 12. Ammonia Nitrogen 40 13. Nitrate Nitrogen 41 I 14. Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen 42 15. Orthophosphorus 43 16. Total Phosphorus . 44 I 17. Temperature 45 18. Dissolved Oxygen 46 19. pH 47 20. Alkalinity 48 I 21. Conductivity 49 22. Chloride 50 23. Total Suspended Solids 51 I 24. Turbidity 52 25. Total Iron 53 26. Fecal Coliform 54 I 27. Fecal Streptococci 55 28. Secchi Transparency 56 29. Chlorophyll 56 30. Quality Control Data 85 I 31. Quality of Camp Pembroke Wastewater Effluent 88 32. Quality of Water Pumped from Zaniboni Well 89 33. Special Sampling of Non-Study Ponds: 9/27/88 90 I 34. Special Sampling of Non-Study Ponds: 11/1/88 91 35. Concentrations of Metals at Selected Stations: 9/29/87 93 36. Concentrations of Metals at Selected Stations:lO/26/87 94 37. Concentrations of Metals at PM-37 during Dry Weather 95 I 38. Bog Areas and Associated Volumes 97 39. Cranberry Bog Water Quality Data, Harvest 1988 98 40. Inventory of Stormwater Drainage Systems 101 I 41. Stormwater Data: 5/11/88 102 42. Stormwater Data: 5/25/88 102 43. Stormwater Data:10/12/88 103 I 44. Oldham Pond Seepage: June 1988 114 45. Oldham Pond Seepage: August 1988 115 I 46. Furnace Pond Seepage: June 1988 116 I I I I PAGE 47. Furnace Pond Seepage: August 1988 117 • 48. Little Sandy Bottom Pond Seepage: September 1987 118 I 49. Little Sandy Bottom Pond Seepage: June 1988 119 50. Stetson Pond Seepage: August 1987 120 51. Stetson Pond Seepage: June 1988 121 I 52. Seepage Rates for a Single Location over Time in Stetson Pond 122 I 53. Porewater Quality in the Pembroke Ponds 128 54. Pembroke Ponds Well Water Quality 132 • 55. Soft Sediment Volume in Oldham Pond 140 | 56. Soft Sediment Volume in Furnace Pond 140 57. Soft Sediment Volume in Little Sandy Bottom Pond 141 _ 58. Soft Sediment Volume in Stetson Pond 141 • 59. Chemical Characterisitics of the Pembroke Ponds Sediments 142 * 60. Results of Sediment Suspension and Settling Tests 143 61. Turbidity Survey During Low Recreational Use 149 I 62. Boat Use During Low Recreational Use 149 I 63. Turbidity Survey During High Recreational Use 150 64. Boat Use During High Recreational Use —* 150 • 65. Chemistry of Pond Water Before Recreational Activity 157 I 66. Chemistry of Pond Water After Recreational Activity 157 67. Residential Practices Inventory 159 68. Zooplankton Composition and Density 179 I 69. Zooplankton Length Distributions 182 B 70. Oldham Pond Fish Survey Results 190 71. Furnace Pond Fish Survey Results 191 • 72. Little Sandy Bottom Pond Fish Survey Results 192 p 73. Stetson Pond Fish Survey Results 193 74. Hydrologic Budgets for the Pembroke Ponds 200 _ 75. Equations and Variables for Deriving Phosphorus Load I Estimates from In-Lake Concentrations 202 • 76. Phosphorus Loads Based on In-Lake Concentration Models 203 77. Water, Phosphorus and Nitrogen Loads to the Pembroke Ponds 205 • 78. Hydrologic, Phosphorus and Nitrogen Budget Summary 209 I 79. Lake Restoration and Management Options 224 80. In-Lake Management Options for the Control of Rooted Plants 228 • i i i i i 1 1 1 LIST OF FIGURES 1 PAGE 1 Oldham Pond Bathymetric Map 9 2 Furnace Pond Bathymetric Map 10 1 3 Little Sandy Bottom Pond Bathymetric Map 11 4 Stetson Pond Bathymetric Map 12 5 Hypsographic Curves for the Pembroke Ponds 13 6 Tributary Drainage Areas, Whitman and Howard, 1965 15 1 7 Division of Water Supply Drainage Areas, 1982 17 8 Flow Patterns and Cranberry Bogs in the Watershed 18 9 Delineated Sub-Watersheds of the Pembroke Ponds 20 1 10 Simplified, Functional Sub-Watersheds 21 11 Major Watersheds 22 12 Land Use in the Watersheds of the Pembroke Ponds 25 1 13 Soils of the Watersheds of the Pembroke Ponds 28 14 Sampling Station Locations 34 15 Temperature-Dissolved Oxygen Profiles: Oldham Pond 59 16 Temperature-Dissolved Oxygen Profiles: Furnace Pond 65 1 17 Temperature-Dissolved Oxygen Profiles: Little Sandy Bottom Pond 71 18 Temperature-Dissolved Oxygen Profiles: Stetson Pond 76 19 Storm Drainage Systems 100 1 20 Generalized Groundwater Contours 109 21 Location of Seepage Meters: Oldham Pond 110 22 Location of Seepage Meters: Furnace Pond 111 23 Location of Seepage Meters: Little Sandy Bottom Pond 112 1 24 Location of Seepage Meters: Stetson Pond 113 25 Location of LIP Sample Stations: Oldham Pond 124 26 Location of LIP Sample Stations Furnace Pond 125 1 27 Location of LIP Sample Stations Little Sandy Bottom Pond 126 28 Location of LIP Sample Stations Stetson Pond 127 29 Locations of Sampled Wells 131 1 30 Soft Sediment Depth: Oldham Pond 136 31 Soft Sediment Depth: Furnace Pond 137 32 Soft Sediment Depth: Little Sandy Bottom Pond 138