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Land Bank approves feasibility study for Madaket marsh pipe replacement
Summary
The Land Bank Commission on July 22 approved funding for a consultant feasibility study of a failing asbestos-containing pipe and adjacent marsh at 55 Warrens Landing Road in Madaket to evaluate pipe replacement versus nature-based alternatives.
The Land Bank Commission voted July 22 to fund a consultant study of a damaged pipe and the adjacent marsh at 55 Warrens Landing Road in Madaket to determine whether to replace the pipe or pursue a nature-based solution.
Staff said the pipe — which contains asbestos as a component, is cracked and failing — conveys tidal flow between a small northern marsh on Land Bank property and the larger marsh to the south. The property has caused periodic parking-lot flooding when marsh water exceeds local capacity. Staff noted that a pipe replacement has previously been permitted but that project-level construction would likely cost in the order of more than $150,000.
The commission approved a two-phase consulting contract: phase one is a site study and modeling effort to assess marsh depths, bathymetry, hydrologic forces and whether a nature-based connection to the larger marsh could replace the pipe function. Staff said the phase-one work is expected to take a few months, involves one day of field work and then modeling and reporting, and the cost being approved for the study is roughly $11,000.
Commissioners asked whether proceeding with the study would jeopardize the existing permit for pipe replacement; staff said it would not. The consulting work was recommended by the Conservation Foundation, which staff said had previously worked with the firm and flagged the site as suitable for those consultants. Staff said outcomes could include detailed specifications for either a pipe replacement or an alternative nature-based approach and that a second-phase design and permitting effort would follow depending on the study results.
Action: a motion to approve the initial transfer of funds for the consultant study (roughly $11,000) carried by voice vote. Staff said if a nature-based solution is selected, additional permitting and project work would be required and cost estimates would be brought back to the commission for approval.
Ending: staff will return with the consultant report and recommendations and, if necessary, draft project specifications for commission review.
