Every cut of Edgartown Great Pond is unique. Historically we have monitored the timing and duration of openings. Another important thing to consider is the amount of water coming into the Pond as measured by the change in elevation between high and low tide. EGP was cut on March 24th, 2019. The Pond drained for a day and then became moderately tidal (1.8 inches between high and low) for 1.5 days. For the last 3 weeks the Pond has remained open and low, but there has not been a clear elevation change with tidal cycles since the first 48 hours.
By contrast there was about a 6.24 inch difference between high and low tides for the first several days following the November 2018 cut of EGP. There are 2 phases to a Pond cut, first the draining phase, and then the tidal phase. The flushing of the Pond with cool, clean, salty, and oxygenated water occurs during the tidal phase of the opening according to the 1993 report by Arthur Gaines.
