Living Waters…Thriving Island

By Emily Reddington

The Legacy Beneath Our Feet

By Dr. Javier Lloret, Marine Biological Laboratory and University of Maryland

(an excerpt from 2024 Annual Report)

For decades, human activity has introduced excess nutrients—especially nitrogen and phosphorus—into the aquifer. These nutrients come from household wastewater, fertilizers, and other sources. Once they reach coastal waters, they fuel the growth of algae and plankton, which can degrade water quality, trigger harmful algal blooms, and even lead to fish and shellfish kills. The challenge we face today is that much of the nutrient pollution

now affecting our ponds was introduced years—sometimes decades—ago. The environmental issues we see today are in part the legacy of past pollution. This pollution legacy presents a major challenge for managing and restoring our coastal ponds. Because groundwater moves so slowly, even if we stopped all nutrient pollution today, the excess nutrients already in the aquifer would continue to reach our waters for years to come. This delayed response means that despite our current efforts and investments in improving water quality, noticeable improvements may take decades to appear.

However, there are solutions…….

2024 OUTREACH RECAP

Great Pond Foundation works year-round to fulfill our mission: To cultivate the resilience of our coastal pond ecosystems through science, collaboration, and education. We engage in events because protecting our precious ponds requires an Island of informed and engaged community members. Be sure to join us at our 2025 events!

Here is a list of our outreach events from 2024:

Water Gives…What If We Give Back

By Emily Reddington

What If We Give Back

Water gives us so much, what if we chose to give back? This reciprocal relationship with water and its creatures is not a new concept. The Wampanoag community has spent the last 12,000 years living the knowledge that giving back to the ecosystem, through gratitude and actions, is a vital part of sustaining life. Wampanoag people have long understood that water itself is life.

Resilience is about giving back more than we take. It is building a surplus of health and well-being and cultivating a stronger ecosystem. Each cut is an opportunity to renew and restore pond ecosystems. It is an opportunity to strengthen the ecosystem and to build resilience by infusing brackish ponds with cool, salty, clear, and clean seawater. 

Excess nitrogen is the greatest driver of impairment in our pond ecosystems. Eventually external nitrogen restrictions will be imposed by the state, as they have been on the Cape, but will the health of our precious ecosystems five years from now? What if we proactively chose to reduce nitrogen? 

Cultivating Community Resilience

Martha’s Vineyard is celebrated for its abundant and beautiful natural spaces, but one of our greatest assets is our strong and resilient community. While the challenges facing our ponds are growing, so is our knowledge of the sources of impairment and the solutions to remediate them. Our community can be the model for other coastal communities by proactively choosing to give back to our waters and cultivate their resilience. 

Please help us keep our local waters alive. We need your support, now more than ever. 

STUDYING MV GROUNDWATER

According to USGS (US Geological Survey)

Groundwater is water that exists underground in saturated zones beneath the land surface. The upper surface of the saturated zone is called the water table.

Contrary to popular belief, groundwater does not form underground rivers. It fills the pores and fractures in underground materials such as sand, gravel, and other rock, much the same way that water fills a sponge. If groundwater flows naturally out of rock materials or if it can be removed by pumping (in useful amounts), the rock materials are called aquifers.

Groundwater moves slowly, typically at rates of 7-60 centimeters (3-25 inches) per day in an aquifer. As a result, water could remain in an aquifer for hundreds or thousands of years. Groundwater is the source of about 40 percent of water used for public supplies and about 39 percent of water used for agriculture in the United States. USGS What is Groundwater?

Great Pond Foundation began a collaboration with The Marine Biological Laboratory, in 2021 to measure and locate nitrogen sources in groundwater surrounding our Island Great Ponds.

Upon completion of the first phase, the study indicated that >50% of nitrogen in our Great Ponds is coming from wastewater and the next biggest contributor is fertilizer. The bad news is that humans caused this problem. The good news is that humans can fix it.

Tracking sources of nitrogen pollution is an iterative process where each round of sampling gets closer to the target of identifying the source. If you think of a pond as a whole and imagine looking at a large circle that represents a concentrated source or plume of nitrogen, with each round of sampling, the circle gets smaller, and you get closer to the target. The next phase of the work, which began in November 2024, is to integrate the targeted transects in Slough and Meshacket Coves into a nitrogen load model for Edgartown Great Pond.

The ultimate goal is to pinpoint the source and magnitude of concentrated nitrogen plumes. Knowing the size, source, and scope of the problem will allow mitigation technologies can capture and transform harmful nitrogen before it reaches ponds.

Learn more in the December 5, 2024 article by Vineyard Gazette reporter, Gwyn Skiles.

If you are curious how individuals can help reduce nitrogen, the Vineyard Conservation Society provides wonderful resources about having naturally beautiful Vineyard Lawns.

For more information about this ongoing groundwater study visit the links below.

Great Pond Rises During Storm:

While several neighboring south shore coastal ponds were breached during the of the strong storm that began on Sunday, December 17th, 2023, the barrier beach of Edgartown Great Pond remains intact. The elevation of Edgartown Great Pond rose dramatically as a result . As of Wednesday, December 20th, the elevation was 4.38 feet above Local Mean Sea Level (LMSL). This ~0.6 foot rise in the water was due to a combination of precipitation and overwash.

Edgartown Shellfish Constable, Rob Morrison, reports that the Town of Edgartown plans to cut Edgartown Great Pond to the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, December 23rd, 2023.

Drone imagery captured by photographer and drone pilot, David Welch shows the dramatic re-shaping of the barrier beach and flooding around Edgartown Great Pond.

Natural Breaches Across South Shore:

The late fall storm that began on Sunday, December 17th, brought rain and wind through Monday. The pounding waves continued into mid-week, overwashing the barrier beach and flowing into south-facing ponds.

Long Cove Pond, West Tisbury, MA

At least three natural breaches have been confirmed along the south shore at Chilmark Pond, Tisbury Great Pond, and Long Cove Pond. Both Chilmark and Tisbury Great Pond are brackish ecosystems that are cut to the Atlantic Ocean several times per year. Long Cove Pond, located within the Long Point Wildlife Refuge is a freshwater ecosystem. There have been reports of fish kills and dead tadpoles, likely a result of the sudden influx of seawater, shocking these freshwater species.

Chilmark Pond, Chilmark, MA

The barrier beach of Edgartown Great Pond remains intact, but the strong storm brought over a foot of water into the Pond through a combination of precipitation and overwash. Edgartown Shellfish Constable, Rob Morrison, reports that the Town of Edgartown plans to cut Edgartown Great Pond to the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, December 23rd, 2023.

It has been a while since our latest cut update, so we wanted to celebrate the smashing success of the April cut which stayed open and tidal for 20+ days following winter dredging by the Town of Edgartown. This is excellent news for Edgartown Great Pond and all the life within its depths.

We have Edgartown Shellfish Constable, Rob Morrison to thank for this stellar start to the season. The cut flushed every region and cove both the Pond with salty, cool, clean, and oxygen-rich seawater. Still now in August, the salinity throughout the Pond is in the upper teens ~17-19 ppt (parts per thousand). For reference, the Atlantic Ocean is approximately 33 ppt and eelgrass prefers salinity above 15 ppt but can tolerate salinities as low as 10 ppt for short periods of time.

The question on everyone’s mind seems to be whether or not there will be a summer cut of Edgartown Great Pond. A lot of factors weigh into the Town of Edgartown’s decision to cut the Pond. We are very lucky that the Town’s decision rests on the capable shoulders of biologist and Shellfish Constable, Rob Morrison. Rob uses all the scientific tools and data at his disposal and tends to look towards moon tides to optimize the effectiveness of a cut. The next New Moon is August 16th, and the Full Moon is August 30th. All the conditions, sea state, moon tide, wind, elevation, and many factors must come together for an optimal cut.

For a summer cut to occur, the Pond elevation has to be high going into the summer and the precipitation needs to exceed the evaporation. GPF has been tracking the elevation of EGP and it has been staying at approximately 3 feet above Mean Sea Level (MSL). Successful cuts occur when EGP elevation meets or exceeds 3.5 feet above MSL.

Summer cuts are so fun to see and explore, but the consequences of an ill-timed cut are severe and may outweigh the fun. During a successful cut, the Pond must drain and then it must become tidal to flush all coves and corners of EGP with cool, clean, clear, salty, and oxygenated seawater. If the Pond is cut and drains but the tidal flush does not occur, the Pond would be shallow and heat up, reducing the water quality and endangering all the life within it.

We are proud to bring you Great Pond Foundation’s Annual Report – 2022.  Please join Great Pond Foundation in our efforts to cultivate the resilience of our coastal pond ecosystems through science, collaboration, and education. It is going to take an Island of informed and engaged community members to protect our precious ponds.

~ Discover how Eelgrass Embodies Ecosystem Resilience.

~ Learn about MV CYANO in 2022 and about the cyanobacteria blooms across the Island.

~ Dig deeper in nutrient pollution in Nitrogen, Wastewater, and Title 5. The MA DEP has chosen to leave the Island out of the nitrogen regulations that are now in place for Cape Cod. However, reducing nitrogen throughout our coastal ponds is essential to protecting and restoring their ecological health.

~ Join us in our mission to Save Our Seagrass, as eelgrass ecosystems are one of our Island’s most precious and rare habitats .

GPF Annual Report – 2022

Please join GPF in congratulating David Bouck on his promotion to Director of Science and Collaboration. In this newly created position, David oversees the Foundation’s scientific endeavors and collaborative efforts. David originally joined GPF’s team in February 2021 as our Watershed Outreach Manager.

During his time at GPF David has demonstrated excellence in fostering collaborative relationships, has supported community cooperation through data sharing and preservation, and has enhanced the Foundation’s capacity to analyze and present data spatially. David’s data-rich maps are incredible, especially if you have been on the receiving end of one!

David leads his scientific team with humor, humility, intelligence, and grace. Those of us who get to work with David on a daily basis count ourselves as lucky. The Great Pond community benefits from David and his team’s work collecting and analyzing MV CYANO data; providing regular reports to shellfish departments and riparian groups responsible for cutting ponds; monitoring pond ecosystems; and collaborating with scientists from on and off of the Island. Learn more about David here.

We also want to wish former Scientific Program Director, Julie Pringle, well in her new position with the Edgartown Shellfish Department. The Town of Edgartown is lucky to have Julie’s scientific skill and knowledge for the benefit of all Edgartown waters. We are grateful for Julie’s work on behalf of the Great Pond community during her time at GPF.

GPF’s New Scientific Program Director:

We are proud to announce that in January, Julie Pringle, formerly GPF’s Scientific Program manager, was promoted to Scientific Program Director. Fortuitously, Julie joined on team on Earth Day 2019. Since becoming a member of our scientific staff, Julie has expanded the Foundation’s scientific capacity, both in terms of the range of studies we conduct and the quantity of data we analyze. Julie leads GPF’s scientific programs including the Ecosystem Monitoring Program, the Biodiversity Monitoring Program, and the MV CYANO program. Julie’s incredible work ethic, meticulous dedication to data integrity, and stellar scientific mind make us so grateful she is a member of our team.

More About Julie:

As a native Islander Julie developed a passion for anything water-related from an early age. Her childhood spent sailing and swimming led to a curiosity about the creatures living under the surface, which grew into a desire to protect this wildlife from the many threats they face. As an undergraduate Julie attended Tufts University, where she received a B.S. in biology. Prior to graduate school, Julie worked as the Water Resources Intern at the Martha’s Vineyard Commission and as a Laboratory Assistant at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In 2018, Julie completed her master’s degree at University of Connecticut Avery Point, where she studied biological oceanography. Julie’s master’s thesis focused on age and growth patterns of the Atlantic silverside, a small but abundant fish that plays an important role in the food web.

GPF’s Science Team