Cape Cod Pond Monitoring Program

As part of the county-approved Freshwater Initiative, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) was contracted by Barnstable County and the Cape Cod Commission to conduct pond monitoring of 50 ponds Cape-wide from 2023 through 2025. This three-year program involves monitoring each pond seven times per year from April through October. The goal is to help Cape Cod communities to better protect and manage our ponds by collecting water quality data to characterize pond conditions, to understand the effects of watershed development and other stressors, and to inform pond protection and management strategies.

The Cape Cod Commission and APCC selected 50 ponds using criteria that include size, depth, public access, other pond characteristics, data gaps, geographic considerations, and town priorities identified from Commission meetings with municipal staff.

Pond monitoring is conducted by APCC staff at the deepest point in the pond with the assistance of a volunteer. Monitoring data gathered includes measurement of depth, Secchi disk depth, water quality (i.e., temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and salinity) using a sonde lowered into the water, and collection of water samples for lab analyses of nutrients, chlorophyll, and alkalinity. Lab analyses are being done by the Center for Coastal Studies, a state-certified laboratory contracted by APCC. 

APCC’s Pond Monitoring Program is directed by Dr. Julie Hambrook, director of both the Pond Monitoring and Cyanobacteria Monitoring Programs. Pond monitoring staff include Sophia Feuerhake and John-Tyler (“JT”) Percy. Our operations manager for both the Pond and Cyanobacteria Monitoring Programs is Lynn Francis.

Contacts for Pond Monitoring Program:
Dr. Julie Hambrook, Director, Ponds and Cyanobacteria Monitoring Programs: [email protected]
Sophia Feuerhake, Senior Pond Monitoring Technician: [email protected]
Lynn Francis, Operations Manager, Ponds and Cyanobacteria Monitoring Programs: [email protected]
Dr. Jo Ann Muramoto, Science Program Director: [email protected]
Kristin Andres, Associate Director for Education: [email protected]
Andrew Gottlieb, APCC Executive Director: [email protected]