10/13/2011 ENVIRONMENTAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Minutes

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dissolved oxygen information, approximately 45% of all the ponds and 89% of the deepest ponds are impaired. Although these measures indicate significant ecological problems, most of the ponds still provide the majority of uses that most Cape Codders desire. Bacterial testing of ponds show that these ponds generally provide healthy conditions for swimming. Fishing and boating are still popular and recent property values and sales show that demand for pondfront properties is only increasing. But even some these uses are impacted by ecological problems. Occasional large fish kills or algal blooms are due to excessive nutrients., Regular stocking of deep ponds sustains trout fisheries, but trout generally do not have adequate habitats to make it through a summer due to lack of oxygen cold waters of deeper ponds. More nutrients generally favor bass fishing, but half of the eighteen pond tested for mercury now have health warnings about consumption of fish tissue. Because the appearance of these ponds is shaped by what the users observe from the surface, actions to correct these ecological impairments will depend on community and state priorities. Active discussion of ecological management strategies for these ponds may lead to refinement of pond users' expectations for habitat and recreation. The PALS Program offers the opportunity to concerned citizens (Pond and Lake Stewards (PALS)) to gather meaningful ecological and use information that can later be used to influence future funding priorities and provide data to scientists that can be used in later assessments of remedial water quality options. The PALS Program currently has a number of monitoring components (Snapshots and more frequent town programs) that are developing information that will be useful for better understanding the regional status, as well as the status of individual ponds. The.networking components of the PALS program encourage the sharing of experiences among all PALS. In order to encourage and sustain the nascent network of PALS on Cape Cod the following are recommended as future steps: I. Continue the PALS Snapshots of pond water quality 2. Recruit volunteer coordinators, volunteers, and other PALS in each town 3. Encourage towns to acquire necessary sampling equipment 4. Encourage towns to initiate summer pond sampling programs 5. Provide sufficient personnel to train volunteer monitors, develop monitoring locations,provide regular feedback to volunteers to ensure protocols are followed during sampling season 6. Provide qualified personnel to review and analyze sampling data 7. Provide adequate funding to have annual or semi-annual PALS gatherings for outreach, education, and technical transfer 8. Provide adequate long-term funding to remediate impairments 9. Ensure that pond water quality is thoroughly considered in town comprehensive wastewater assessments Cape Cod Pond and Lake Atlas ii May, 2003