Have you ever seen a picture of what our ponds look like from space? NASA has some great shots you can check out here.
Think about Cape Cod like a big slab of Swiss Cheese with nearly 1,000 freshwater ponds breaking up solid pieces of land. The Cape’s ancient ponds are the result of the glaciers that left this area 18,000 years ago. Imagine chunks of glacial ice slowly gouging depressions into the substrate, creating “kettle ponds,” precious little bodies of water recharged by rain and melting snow. The groundwater that fills these ponds is the same water we use for our drinking water and irrigation. This water connection is why our ponds are called “windows on our aquifer.” The health of the ponds foretell the future of our consumable water. I don’t know about you, but I want a clean window to look out of.
The health of our ponds is at risk from past and current agricultural activities, untreated stormwater runoff, invasive species, pollutants from human activities like pesticides and fertilizers, careless littering and other forms of deliberate dumping, as well as effluent from our septic systems that seeps down to the groundwater that feeds ponds.
How are YOU advocating or helping your nearby pond so that it stay healthy? Are you aware of what your town is doing in terms of wastewater treatment, sewer projects and curbing dangerous cyanobacteria? It’s important to find out. Unlike this picture, you live here, not in space and should be protecting this idyllic place you call home.
For more ideas about how to love your pond, go to State of the Waters Action Plan.
And remember, always check with your local conservation office before undertaking any projects around a pond so that you don’t run afoul of local and state wetlands protection regulations.
Pond Stories are a collection of writings and other media from Cape Codders and visitors who love the almost 1,000 local ponds that dot the Cape. We hope this collection of stories awakens your inner environmentalist to think deeper about our human impacts to these unique bodies of water.
Send us your favorite pond photo, story, poem, video, artwork–we want to share with everyone why the Cape’s ponds and lakes are so special! Email your pond connection to [email protected]
