Public Meeting on Floodwater Management Around the Assawompset Ponds Complex
The Assawompset Ponds Committee - a group of representatives from local communities surrounding the ponds, water supply entities, and state agencies - is studying the most promising methods for improving the ecological functions of the Assawompset Ponds Complex in order to alleviate floodwater impacts.
Funded by a grant from the Division of Ecological Restoration, the Ponds Committee is working with a team of specialists with multi-disciplinary perspectives and historical knowledge of issues in the Ponds, including the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District, Mass Audubon, Manomet Inc, Horsley Witten Group, and The Nature Conservancy. The project team synthesized recommendations from four decades’ worth of previous studies, which the Ponds Committee then reviewed to determine their continued relevance and prioritize the projects that, once completed, would have the most significant positive outcomes for retaining and channeling floodwaters. Where historical studies abound, the goal of this current work was to elevate the most important floodwater management projects to the point of readiness for funding and to achieve project realization and installation.
Some of the priority solutions that came out of this work are engineered infrastructure projects (such as replacing undersized culverts), while others are nature based solutions that enhance the ability of natural systems to do their own important work in storing and diverting floodwater (such wetland restoration). In the final stages of the project, the team pursued the top six priority projects, outlining the process for implementation. As part of the effort aimed at next steps, the project team secured grant funding from the Southeast New England Network to perform a hydrological and hydraulic study of the APC’s outlet in the Upper Nemasket River, which will create a model to test potential restoration and floodwater mitigation projects.
The Ponds Committee and the project team are hosting a virtual public meeting to share and discuss project outcomes thus far, and to gather additional insights from residents and stakeholders of the Ponds communities for the next steps in project implementation. Please join us for this important conversation! As further opportunity for input, the presentation will be recorded and posted at www.srpedd.org/environment, accompanied by a fillable form for written comment submission, available through July 8, 2020. We also anticipate additional virtual public meetings on potential waterway enhancement and restoration activities in upcoming months, dates forthcoming.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm
Register for the event by going to: https://forms.gle/n7VeZG5mmJ4FkPYF8
For those without access to a computer, please call our project hotline at 508-812-0636. Leave your name and number, and we will follow up with instructions for accessing the meeting by phone.