HomeMy WebLinkAbout5079 35 & 41 Industrial Park Rd Tech Memo 04.01.24Page 1 of 8
Technical Memorandum
To: Yarmouth Zoning Board of Appeals
From: Eric Karplus – Science Wares, Inc.
Subject: PETITION 5079: Matthew White dba Howl-A-Day LLC.
Property Location: 35 & 41 Industrial Park Road, West Yarmouth, MA
Map & Lot #: 74.13; Zoning District: B-3 & APD
Date: April 1, 2024
I. Background
The Yarmouth Zoning Board of Appeals requested an inspection of and recommendations for the
outside area at 35 & 41 Industrial Park Road, West Yarmouth, MA 02673, in particular:
Is the outside area impervious? If not, how can the outside area be designed to protect the
Town’s groundwater from animal waste?
II. Characterization of Outside Area
Figure 1 shows annotated satellite imagery from Google Earth from April 2005, May 2010, and
October 2021 (the most recent available to the public). In September 2016 Howl-A-Day
contracted ForeverLawn of Hanover, MA to install 1,200 square feet of K-9 grass in the three
areas outlined in red in the 2021 image. The 2021 image, which is representative of the current
configuration, is provided in Figure 2 along with annotation of notable features and markers
indicating the location of a water sampling well, two cores, and the existing low point for
rainwater runoff from outside area.
ForeverLawn does not have detailed records of the 2016 K-9 grass installation but advised that
they would not have recommended installing their product over an impervious surface. Their
standard installation protocol in 2016 would have been to remove any existing vegetation and
then put down a layer of 4-5” of a mixture of 80% ½” gravel and 20% stone dust, compacting that
and covering it with the K-9 grass. The perimeter of the K-9 grass is anchored to a wood frame. It
is not possible to assess the actual material under the existing K-9 grass without damaging or
temporarily removing and then reinstalling it. As shown in Figure 2, some areas adjacent to the
K-9 grass have pavement underneath, and others do not. Some views of the current
configuration of the outside area used by dogs are shown in Figure 3.
It was observed during a recent rainfall that the some of the runoff from the outside area heads
to the north of the property line, but due to the grade of the site most of it runs south and a little
bit east towards the drainage low point in the southern end of the parking lot.
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Figure 1. Google Earth imagery of outside area.
Figure 2. Detail of current configuration.
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Figure 3. Views of current configuration of outside area used by dogs.
The exposed asphalt in the parking area appears to have been installed in several sections at
different times. It can be seen in the 2005 image in Figure 1 that there was asphalt under part of
the outside area currently used by dogs. It was confirmed that there is still existing asphalt under
some of the areas adjacent to the K-9 grass areas, as detailed in Figure 2 and Figure 3.
The exposed asphalt is in fair condition overall with a few small areas in between sections
beginning to deteriorate. There is an approximately 3’ wide by 6” thick layer concrete apron
along the east edge of the building, a core of which is shown on the right side of Figure 4.
A soil core was taken from the area just northwest of the outside area used by the dogs,
revealing ~5” layer of topsoil that transitions to coarse sand below 10” as shown on the left side
of Figure 4.
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Figure 4. Soil and concrete cores.
III. Water sampling
The current owner of the property installed a well at the location shown in Figure 2 and provided
a water sample at 9:15am on March 15, 2024 that was witnessed and delivered to Envirotech
Laboratories, Inc. by staff from our company. The results are attached to this report.
IV. Assessment and Recommendations
The site appears to be well situated and managed. Solid waste from the dogs is removed
promptly and bagged and transferred to a dumpster that collects other trash which is regularly
removed from property by a commercial hauler. This aligns with well-known pet waste
management strategies. Urine cannot be collected but instead enters into the ground by a variety
of routes at this site:
- K-9 grass into 4-5” of 80% ½” gravel / 20% stone dust
- ¾” gravel over topsoil (~3’ x 40’ strip on north edge, ~3’ x 12’ strip along east edge)
- ¾” gravel over asphalt (~4’ x 40’ strip along south edge and ~3’ x 40’ strip along east
edge)
- Runoff into wooded area to the north and east and gravel covered portion of southern
area of parking lot abutting natural woods on south
This site has been operating for daycare and boarding in something close to its current
configuration since the K-9 grass was installed about 7.5 years ago (September 2016). The
water sample taken from a nearby well had a Nitrite-N level of 0.03 mg/L (recommended limit
1.00 mg/L) and a Nitrate-N level of 0.9 mg/L (recommended limit 10.0 mg/L).
On the basis of qualitative observation of the site and the results from the water test, it is
reasonable to believe that solid animal waste is being handled in the best way possible, and that
nitrate and nitrite in the urine is being metabolized in the various groundcover and soil systems
and is not propagating into the groundwater at levels of concern.
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A recommended strategy for improving the removal of nutrients in runoff water at the site, which
is expected to contain some of the nutrients from the animal urine, would be to modify the
drainage system to ensure that runoff travels past the existing drainage low point and proceeds
more directly into the naturally wooded area. Improving the flow of runoff to established root
zones with good drainage characteristics aligns with best management practices for stormwater
management. At a minimum, this would involve a slight adjustment of the grade at the southern
edge of the parking lot so that runoff can travel more freely into the naturally wooded area shown
in Figure 5. In addition, improvements could be made to the upstream runoff path as shown in
Figure 6 so that any nutrient enriched runoff from the site proceeds more directly to naturally
wooded area shown in Figure 5 where it can be metabolized before entering the groundwater.
Figure 5. Wooded area with established root zone.
Figure 6. Recommendation for improving runoff management.
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V. About Science Wares, Inc.
Science Wares, Inc. has been providing technical consulting services for wastewater
management planning on Cape Cod for over 10 years. We have been contracted directly or
subcontracted by companies including GHD and Horsley Witten to work with Towns including
Falmouth, Barnstable, Orleans, and Eastham as well as the Cape Cod Commission and several
private organizations. We have planned and executed pilot programs for a variety of non-
traditional technologies including innovative/alternative septic systems (I/As), ‘eco toilets’, and
increased aquaculture.
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