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Consultant presents grant-backed plan to map Rye's Bailey Brook watershed and test for pollutants
Summary
FB Environmental consultant Maggie Kosalek told the Rye Planning Board the town is applying for a grant to map stormwater infrastructure and survey Bailey Brook for bacteria, oxygen levels and pollutants, including PFOS; the work would create a baseline for future monitoring.
Maggie Kosalek of FB Environmental, appearing by Zoom at the Town of Rye Planning Board's June 9 meeting, described a proposed grant-funded project to map the Bailey Brook watershed and survey stormwater infrastructure and pollution sources.
The presentation outlined work to identify stormwater conveyances and potential pollution sources, and to conduct water-quality monitoring that would measure dissolved oxygen, bacteria and other pollutants to establish a baseline for future comparisons. Kosalek said the mapping and survey would inform later recommendations for management and monitoring.
Board members raised PFOS as a concern and discussed buffer increases and other measures to restrict pollution. Chair Pat Losik noted the town plans to have a water treatment plant that will treat PFOS in the future. The board also noted climate change, rising groundwater and intercoastal flood risk as factors increasing vulnerability for the watershed.
The board did not record a formal vote on the grant at the meeting; members discussed next steps, including pursuing the grant application and possibly adding an action item specifically addressing PFOS.
