Dirty Water?
DPW orders Matthews to submit dewatering discharge plan for the Point Breeze
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER
During an astronomical high tide and a heavy downpour on Sept. 28, the Point Breeze's dewatering system may have aggravated the already overtaxed storm drain catch basins around the intersection of North Beach and Easton streets.

The resultant street flooding left the asphalt stained reddish brown - presumably from iron in the soil and other potential contaminants - and alarmed the Shellfish & Harbor Advisory Board enough to warrant discussing the drafting of a letter alerting the Board of Selectmen to the potential for harbor pollution.

Marine Superintendent Dave Fronzuto said excess water coming off the property should be filtered before it enters the harbor.

"I would have to say the five months of dewatering with no filtration and siltation filters, I think it's something that everybody should be concerned with," he said at the Oct. 2 SHAB meeting. "I think somebody needs to get a handle on this. If you look at the staining of Easton Street and down the curb and on the street, it's an issue we need to get a handle on."

While SHAB never sent that letter, the Department of Public Works was already on the case. Having given the Point Breeze permission on April 27 to tie into the town's stormwater collection system on Easton Street, Public Works Superintendent Jeff Willett sent a letter by certified mail to Point Breeze attorney Sarah Alger advising her that if the Point Breeze did not submit a dewatering discharge plan by last Friday, he would shut off its connection.

"On Friday, September 28, the storm water drainage system in the Brant Point area was overwhelmed by high tides, causing localized flooding of the roads and private property," Willett wrote in his letter. "While construction dewatering operations associated with your project did not cause the flooding, it did exacerbate the problem by contributing additional water to a flooded water collection system. This situation must be corrected."

Alger said she knew nothing of any filtration devices used by the Point Breeze. Project Manager Nick Laudano could not be reached for comment. However, the Point Breeze did turn in the requested plan to the DPW on time, complete with all of the information Willett sought. In its plan, the Point Breeze said it would rely on the DPW to tell Laudono to shut off its dewatering system during storm events and astronomical high tides.

The dewatering discharge plan says the water is removed from the site at a rate of 45 gallons per minute and pumped into a tank that filters out contaminants. The filtered water then flows by gravity through a three-inch pipe into one of the town's catch basins on Easton Street. The gravity line contains a shutoff valve that prevents flow into the catch basin or back into the tank. Should heavy rain or high tide force the DPW to shut off the Point Breeze's connection to the catch basin, according to its plan, the Point Breeze can handle its own water.

"The property owner and his or her representatives shall ensure that in the event the dewatering system is shut down, flooding that occurs as a result of this shut-down shall be contained on the property," said the Point Breeze in its dewatering discharge plan.

As a result of the Point Breeze having to draft and file such a plan, the DPW will require future dewatering discharge plans for anyone dewatering their property in this part of Nantucket, said DPW

Administrator Diane Holdgate. I