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Our Coastal Ponds
Martha’s Vineyard is ringed by 27 saltwater and brackish ponds that are vital to the Island’s health and beauty. They are essential to our shell-fishing and fishing industries and are avidly explored on shore and on water. The salinity in the coastal ponds is reduced by the fresh water input creating specialized habitat and giving these ponds their unique, estuarine nature. An estuary is an enclosed body of water that has an open connection to the sea and is measurably diluted by fresh water from the surrounding land.
The following links are to the 15 main coastal pond systems on Martha's Vineyard and include information on the overall watershed, water quality, the status of the Massachusetts Estuaries Project (MEP), and the status of implementation of improvement measures.
- Cape Pogue
- Chilmark Pond
- Edgartown Great Pond
- Farm Pond
- James Pond
- Katama Bay
- Lagoon Pond
- Menemsha Pond
- Oak Bluffs Harbor
- Oyster Pond
- Sengekontacket Pond
- Squibnocket Pond
- Tashmoo Pond
- Tisbury Great Pond
Our Freshwater Ponds
There are 61 fresh water ponds in the six Vineyard towns that total about 615 acres in area. The fresh ponds rise and fall in a pattern that is a close parallel to the water table changes indicating that they are fed by groundwater.
- Pond Summary: This document provides an inventory of what we know about our many ponds, both freshwater and coastal.
- Crystal Lake
- Seth's Pond
Annual Island Wide Pond Reports
General Info and Links
- Learn more about the Massachusetts Estuaries Project (MEP)
- map of MEPs on cape and islands
- Learn about SMAST's role in the MEP
- Cape Cod Water Quality Plan and the 2014 Commission meeting outlining its details
- Learn more about how we sample our ponds and who helps us on our What We Do page
- Vineyard Gazette series 'Coastal Ponds Under Pressure
- In the summer and fall of 2015, the Vineyard Gazette ran an excellent series of articles about the challenges facing the Vineyard's coastal ponds called Coastal Ponds Under Pressure. Here is a link to the whole series, and the following are links to some of the articles.
- Coastal Ponds Under Pressure - August 6, 2015
- For Islanders, Ties to Coastal Ponds Run Deep - August 13, 2015
- Hard Science Hard Truths about Pond Pollution - August 27, 2015
- Wastewater: Plumbing All the Alternatives - September 17, 2015
- Salt Marsh Restoration Aims to Protect and Monitor Key Habitat - September 24, 2015
- Sewering Can Help Save Ponds But At a Cost - October 22, 2015
-
Carving a Path for Pond Management - October 29, 2015
- Aquaculture Boosts Pond Health - November 12, 2015
- As Estuaries Project Nears End, Work Begins to Protect Ponds - November 26, 2015
- In the summer and fall of 2015, the Vineyard Gazette ran an excellent series of articles about the challenges facing the Vineyard's coastal ponds called Coastal Ponds Under Pressure. Here is a link to the whole series, and the following are links to some of the articles.