June 4, 2025, Planning Board Regular Meeting Transcript - WEHI

9 of 41 sheets Page 33 to 36 of 101 06/20/2025 06:55:03 AM 33 Well, but there will no longer be a stippled area1 Q. in the lower center, is that correct?2 That's correct.3 A. And, again, on the far right side, again, the far4 Q. eastern part of the drainage area there's a series of5 blue arrows, again, going to the stippled area. Would6 your testimony as to that area be the same?7 Yes, it would be.8 A. Now, what is the affect ecologically of losing a9 Q. substantial portion of the normal water that drains to10 these wetlands today?11 Well, as I said, one, it's less water. Less12 A. surface water runoff getting into the wetlands. But the13 groundwater hydrology is equally as important, if not14 more important and some of the areas it's not just15 cutoff. Now I will give an example. Like the16 foreground water flow it would be following the same17 general path as the blue arrows but you will have less18 surface flow, but this building, just to fill a large19 structure like this, is going to completely eliminate20 ground water flow towards that way.21 The center wetland at the bottom?22 Q. Correct.23 A. Okay.24 Q. Again, you're referring to the winged orange25 34 structure in the middle, correct?1 That's correct.2 A. Now, so you're saying that, if you go back to the3 Q. chart with the, I think it was an orange fragipan line.4 Do you recall that chart? That's it.5 You say the ground water movement, now I see a6 word that says, permeable layer, and then there's a gray7 area with an arrow, then there's the orange fragipan8 line. What does this relate to in terms of groundwater9 movement to the wetland and streams, how does this10 relate?11 Because of the restriction provided by the12 A. fragipan, that's even though water might move downward13 and in surface layers once it hits the fragipan it14 starts to move laterally and that's represented in the15 gray color as saturated.16 Is this what you mean by groundwater movement?17 Q. Right.18 A. Continue, sorry.19 Q. And so the discharge point there would be similar20 to the discharge point on the chart where the stippled21 area in the center is, is that correct?22 Yeah, this groundwater flow follows a similar23 A. path as the blue arrows. It's just a slower moving24 water that the rainwater peculates into the ground and25 35 then moves over the fragipan slowly down the slope.1 Now, I think we all understand the

path as the blue arrows. It's just a slower moving24 water that the rainwater peculates into the ground and25 35 then moves over the fragipan slowly down the slope.1 Now, I think we all understand the groundwater2 Q. movement because stormwater goes across the site.3 Yes.4 A. In terms of losing the groundwater, you referred5 Q. to construction of the building, what does that do6 physically to the movement of groundwater and its7 ability to do that? Can you explain that.8 Well, in the orange building, again, we're9 A. talking about kind of somewhat a U-shaped building, this10 blue arrow is the water that would be below that would11 hit the building and tend to mound on the upgraded side12 and then tend to be a shadow. There's no water on the13 downgraded side. So the building would essentially14 cutoff all that groundwater.15 And by U-shaped building you mean the one in the16 Q. center, there's another one on the upper part of the17 chart?18 Correct. The one that's in the center on the19 A. south.20 Thank you.21 Q. And now, when wetland areas lose say 28 percent,22 33 percent, whatever they be, of the drainage, what does23 that typically do to the ecology of those sites?24 Well, the one key thing is there would be less25 A. 36 water to drive the hydrology that makes their wetland.1 So you can anticipate some of those current wetland2 areas will be dryer and especially the ones that are3 more dead will probably come up upland. They'll no4 longer enough water to drive hydrology into the wetland.5 And so when they change their wetland to the6 Q. upland what does that do to the flora for example?7 Typically would they grow there?8 It would be a change in the plant species9 A. composition of the wetland.10 And does that affect the flora?11 Q. There's an element of that, especially in the12 A. wetter parts that a lot of the variable chemical13 reactions that occur in wetlands occur when they're14 saturated. An anaerobic or anaerobic conditions that15 allow oxygen and that's where nutrients are transformed.16 If they're dryer there are periods it won't be as long17 and so that function ends up being negatively impacted.18 You when you were describing the types of soil on19 Q. the site, in those three types of soil, and you20 mentioned there was a source, but I couldn't quite hear21 you. Could you define the source of the information22 about the soil composition on

on19 Q. the site, in those three types of soil, and you20 mentioned there was a source, but I couldn't quite hear21 you. Could you define the source of the information22 about the soil composition on the site? What is the23 source for that information.24 For the mapping and the information?25 A.