Cape Pond Program Expands

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06 February 2026 – CAPE COD MA – Cape Cod ponds are getting another set of eyes upon them this year as the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) will spearhead an expanded version of the Cape Cod Regional Pond Monitoring Program.

What is the pond monitoring program?

The program launched in 2023, after Barnstable County and the Cape Cod Commission contracted the APCC to conduct water quality monitoring in 50 ponds across all 15 Cape towns. In 2026, the program now has the capacity to include up to 75 ponds.

The program is part of the county-approved Cape Cod Freshwater Initiative and the Cape Cod Commission describes it as “…a comprehensive effort to monitor freshwater quality on Cape Cod, building on decades of monitoring conducted by towns, organizations, and volunteers.”

How is the program expanding?

On Dec. 18, the Commission’s Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund Management Board supported the 25-pond expansion as well as a data collection increase to include biological monitoring of zooplankton by 2027. Official approval followed on Jan. 14.

“I’m really pleased to say that, yes, the [Regional Pond Monitoring Program] is going to continue,” program manager Dr. Julie Hambrook Berkman said.

How do ponds enter the program?

According to the APCC, the criteria for selecting ponds for the program includes size, depth, public access, data gaps, geography and town priorities among other factors.

“The goal is to help Cape Cod communities better protect and manage our ponds by collecting water quality data to characterize the pond conditions and to understand the effects of watershed development and stressors and to inform pond protection and management strategies,” Hambrook Berkman said.

What happens during monitoring?

Data gathering for the Regional Pond Monitoring Program largely takes place between April and October, with some carry-over into March and November. APCC staff partner with volunteers to collect data at each pond seven times per year and lab analyses are handled by the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown.

Data gathering includes depth, water transparency and water quality, including temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and salinity. Monitors also collect water samples, which are later tested for nutrients, chlorophyll and alkalinity.

“What we have found is that each pond is quite unique and each season is different,” Hambrook Berkman said. “We have found that, for instance with the phosphorus, most of the ponds are above what the eco-regional norm would be.”

How does the program impact Cape Cod?

Beyond the technical data, Hambrook Berkman says one of the most noticeable impacts of the Regional Pond Monitoring Program over the past three-plus years has been an increase in public interest and engagement.

She notes this this increase has been especially noticable among long-tenured Cape residents who have observed pond degradation with their own eyes.

“They’re curious and they’re concerned and they want to do things–they’re very interested in being active stewards of their ponds,” Hambrook Berkman said. “In order to be a good steward, you do have to understand the pond before you start trying to do things.

“It’s important to know what you have to start with and to see how it changes through time and if you do things, what should you do, what can you do and what’s going to be the result.”

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