Regional Pond Monitoring Program

Overview

The Regional Pond Monitoring Program is being conducted in collaboration with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod. It aims to monitor a representative sample of ponds across Cape Cod to provide insight into regional freshwater pond water quality and how it is influenced by factors including pond size, surrounding land use, land cover, and watershed characteristics. The program has been designed to complement existing monitoring efforts and provide baseline data regarding how different types of ponds on Cape Cod respond to changing regional environmental conditions throughout the summer and from year to year.

Pond Selection

Fifty ponds have been selected to be monitored over the next three years as part of the Regional Pond Monitoring Program. Pond selection was coordinated with municipal and other monitoring programs to prevent duplicating efforts and maximize data coverage across the region.

Selected ponds reflect a range of the following criteria:

• Spatial coverage across all towns and aquifer lenses
• Range of physical characteristics, e.g., pond size, depth, level of watershed development
• Stream/herring run connections, implementation projects, and Coastal Plains Pondshores
• Water quality status
• Public uses of ponds
• Located in or adjacent to an environmental justice area.

Ponds Selected for Monitoring

Listed alphabetically by town 

Data Management and Analysis

Water quality monitoring data collected will be stored and managed in the regional water quality monitoring database. Data and analyses conducted will be accessible via a web-based user interface to support management decisions and track performance.