Brewster Integrated Water Resource Management Plan (Phase II)

What is an IWRMP?

In 2009, the Town of Brewster embarked on a forward-thinking and far-reaching project to study and protect the Town’s water resources. Growth and development in the Town have already impacted some of these resources. Because the water quality issues in the Town are not dominated by wastewater sources, Brewster will likely not need to sewer large parts of the town nor develop a Comprehensive Water Management Plan (CWMP), as was done a number of neighboring towns. A truly Integrated Water Resources Management Plan (IWRMP) will address all the impacts on the Town’s surface water, groundwater, and coastal waters. Planning for the future will help mitigate and minimize impacts to these Town’s water resources.

 

Introduction

This planning project will develop the second phase of the Integrated Water Resource Management Plan (IWRMP) for the Town, providing an assessment of the issues and proposed solutions to manage the Town’s water resources. The integrated approach will address the components of water resources planning (water supply, wastewater, and stormwater) as well as the spatial (watersheds) and temporal (current versus future) conditions. The overall goal is to plan for sustainable water resources both now and in the future.

Brewster has some remarkable water resources. The Town sits on top of its water supply, a sole source aquifer, so any activities on the land surface can potentially affect the condition and sustainability of the water supply. The Town also has around 80 ponds that are valued as visually appealing, recreational, and ecological resources. These ponds are fed by both surface water and groundwater so they can be impacted in more than one way. The Town also owns significant areas of beach and salt marshes and along Cape Cod Bay which can be impacted by stormwater pollutants.

Population growth in Brewster increased rapidly from 827 people in 1940 to 9,820 people in 2010. The effects of population growth and associated development can impact water resources in the following ways:

• Increased withdrawals to meet the increasing population demand can directly lower groundwater levels, pond levels and streamflows;

• Increased number of septic systems can impact the quality of all waters;

• Increased amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus in groundwater, ponds and coastal waters; and

• Additional impervious surfaces (rooftop, roads, and parking lots) can result in increased stormwater runoff and lower water quality.

Goals of this phase of the IWRMP

The Horsley Witten Group, Inc. (HW) was contracted to perform Phase II of the IWRMP for the Town of Brewster and began work in January 2012. This study will build on the work completed in Phase I and other projects with the following goals:

• Evaluate all current and future water resources throughout the Town to develop a long-term sustainable plan;

• Evaluate current and future controllable sources of nitrogen and phosphorus and develop a mitigation plan to improve water quality conditions in the estuaries and ponds that have been degraded by nitrogen and phosphorus.

• Ensure current and future groundwater capacity and protection, and promote sustainable water use; and

• Expand the Town’s opportunities to use smart growth tools by performing a code audit and making recommendations to:

  • Improve water conservation and reduce lawn irrigation,

  • Limit impervious cover and promote "green" stormwater controls,

  • Promote effective wastewater treatment,

  • Continue to protect water resources and coastal habitats through strategic acquisition of open space (recommended in Phase I - perhaps i.d. strategic parcels or at minimum, incorporate natural resource and conservation mapping tools in plan.), and

  • Integrate or consider climate change adaptation in Town policies and investments or projects

Project Details

More details on the current Phase II project can be found on the Project Details page.