Expanding the Regional Pond Monitoring Program

Despite the heavy layer of snow deposited across the region earlier this week, spring is indeed on the way, heralding the return of the Cape Cod Regional Pond Monitoring Program. Now in its fourth year, the program will add an additional 25 ponds – 75 in total – that will be monitored once per month from March through November.

Cape Cod’s 890 ponds and lakes are a defining element of the region’s identity, providing vital habitat for wildlife, supporting rare natural communities, and connecting to estuarine and marine systems. These water bodies also attract visitors, enhance property values, and support recreational activities such as swimming, boating, and fishing, making them central to both Cape Cod’s ecosystem and economy.

The Cape Cod Freshwater Strategy, released in 2025, underscores the need for consistent data to gain a comprehensive understanding of our region’s ponds and guide effective stewardship.

Launched in 2023 by the Cape Cod Commission and the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the Regional Pond Monitoring Program monitors a representative sample of ponds to provide insight into water quality and how it is influenced by pond size, land use, and watershed characteristics.

The program complements existing monitoring efforts and provides baseline data on how ponds respond to seasonal and annual changes. Ponds were selected to reflect a range of sizes, depths, watershed development, water quality status, and public use, as well as proximity to environmental justice areas.

This year’s additional 25 ponds address regional data gaps and lighten the financial and time intensive monitoring burden for towns. Additional ponds were selected to address Town priority ponds that were not included in the original 50 ponds, to include ponds with a diversity of planned and/or implemented management actions, and to include ponds with significant public value (access, beaches, etc.) that are not currently monitored.

Alongside physical and chemical measurements, the program now includes enhanced monitoring of zooplankton, tiny organisms that feed on phytoplankton and form the base of the pond food web. Tracking zooplankton abundance and diversity offers new insight into pond function, resilience, and emerging ecological changes.

A better understanding of our region’s ponds will ensure these resources remain vibrant for generations to come.

Learn more about the Regional Pond Monitoring Program and explore the Water Quality Data Viewer: www.capecodcommission.org/our-work/regional-pond-monitoring-program