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To understand the dynamics at work affecting water quality in ponds, Commission staff sought a specialist familiar with the biogeochemical interactions in freshwater bodies, the monitoring metrics needed to track these interactions, and potential strategies to address water quality problems. A limnologist helps us ask the right questions, delve deeply into the potential sources of the issues, and consider solutions to water quality decline.

The first season of the Cape Cod Regional Pond Monitoring Program has come to a close, with final samples collected from the region’s ponds in early November.

The Cape Cod Commission will lead an effort to expand satellite-derived water quality data collection and analysis and enhance existing pond monitoring efforts, funded by a $298,527 Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Priority Research Grant.

The first year of the new Cape Cod Regional Pond Monitoring Program concludes this month.

An effort to collect comprehensive data on our region's ponds is underway. The Cape Cod Regional Pond Monitoring Program, developed and implemented in collaboration with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, will collect data from 50 representative Cape Cod ponds every month, seven months per year, for three years, with the hopes of identifying funding to sustain the program into the future.  

Stormwater runoff, development, erosion, invasive species, and septic system discharge impact the health of Cape Cod's 890 ponds. Across the region, management strategies of different types and scales are being implemented to improve water quality and overall pond health.  

Cape Cod Commission staff are using hydrologic response units to identify at-risk sections of pond buffers, better understand pollutant flow, and develop effective solutions.

A comprehensive pond monitoring program is now underway to gather consistent data from ponds across Cape Cod.   

For nearly fifty years, satellites have been orbiting the earth collecting imagery to monitor and study the health of our planet. What if we could use those images to learn more about the health of our ponds and lakes? 

The Cape Cod Ponds Network convened for the fourth time in February 2023. Nearly 70 people dedicated to and interested in improving and maintaining the quality of our region's ponds and lakes attended to learn more about communication and outreach efforts ponds groups can take to educate, inform, and engage citizens.