Wetlands along Rosemary Brook are a Wellesley Town Treasure and Drinking Water Resource

The Wellesley Country Club (WCC) is proposing the following construction in our wetland resource area bordering Rosemary Brook on Brookside Road:

• 23,400 sq. ft. two-story equipment storage & service center
• 2,400 sq. ft. wash-down facility
• Parking spaces for 28 vehicles
• Bulk storage facility with 6 concrete bays (79’ x 18’ x 17’) for material such as mulch and gravel
• Golf course comfort station/lightning shelter (22’ x 13’ x 20’)
• Total project area 2.6 acres
• Wetland buffer zone disturbance 92,000 sq. ft.

In a Stormwater Management Report dated August 16, 2010 submitted by WCC to the Wetland Committee, Wellesley Country Club explained its problem with its current maintenance facility: “The existing facility is undersized for the needs of the maintenance staff and is considered by the members to be an eyesore located at the main entrance to the Club. Ultimately, the membership would like to remove the building and repurpose the area for additional clubhouse parking and landscaping.”

Sadly, Wellesley Country Club has chosen Brookside Road as the proposed location. In addition to concerns about our groundwater and drinking water, our wetland bordering Rosemary Brook surely ranks as one of the most scenic areas in Wellesley and serves as an important wildlife habitat and recreational resource. According to the Town of Wellesley Comprehensive Plan Update 2007-2017, “The Rosemary Brook corridor of conservation land is the biggest wildlife corridor within Wellesley.” People young and old use this rich wetland resource for a wide variety of recreational purposes. Turtle crossings are a legendary event in springtime. The experience of helping a turtle cross the road to escape danger is a rare opportunity for some, but not for the people who use this area. Walkers, runners and cyclists, as well as bird watchers, wildlife enthusiasts, fishermen, photographers, scientists, educators, artists and history buffs all frequent the wetland bordering Rosemary Brook because of its diverse wildlife habitat, unmatched tranquility, rich wetland vegetation and historical/cultural significance. Did you know Chief Maugus, one of the two Indian Chiefs who engaged in negotiations for the land that later became Wellesley, had a wigwam in these wetlands? According to History of the Town of Wellesley "Maugus' habitation is generally supposed to have been near the spring at the junction of Brookside Road and Oakland Street."

Brookside Road is part of a residential neighborhood. It’s a unique, half-mile, tree-lined, undeveloped wetland resource area between Wellesley Avenue and Oakland Street, bordering Rosemary Brook. Wellesley Country Club’s proposed construction on Brookside Road threatens both the intertwined ecosystem and the Town’s water supply:

• Four of seven drinking water wells draw from the Rosemary Brook aquifer.
• This aquifer contributes to 84% of the town’s drinking water
• According to Wellesley’s Source Water Assessment and Protection (SWAP) Report drinking water wells are located in aquifers with a high vulnerability to contamination due to the absence of barriers that can prevent contaminant migration
• The SWAP report states that pesticides and fertilizers have the potential to contaminate a drinking water source if improperly disposed of, stored, or applied
• The Town of Wellesley Comprehensive Plan Update 2007-2017 states “Non-point source (NPS) pollution from storm water runoff is the greatest threat to water quality in Wellesley.”
• The WCC proposal diminishes our established wetland resource area while simultaneously introducing impervious surfaces, bulk materials and transportation corridors that are all potential sources of NPS contamination and storm water runoff.
• Water quality and disturbance of wetland resource areas are a town-wide concern, and are not just a concern of the neighboring residents. The WCC proposal is currently under review by our Wetlands Committee. There is a series of opportunities for people to voice concerns and the committee is welcoming input from the community. If you share our concerns, we urge you to write to Adam Bossi and Wetland Committee Members via abossi@wellesleyma.gov, and attend the Wetland Committee meetings. To learn more about wetland loss and degradation visit http://www.mass.gov/czm/walossd.htm and non-point source pollution visit http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/whatis.cfm

While we understand Wellesley Country Club’s wish to relocate and expand their equipment maintenance building, we are opposed to locating such a facility in a rich wetland resource area that is so close to the Rosemary Brook aquifer. We ask WCC to reconsider this proposal and to find an alternate and more suitable location that will have no impact on our drinking water, the wetland resource area, Rosemary Brook, and the community.