Lagoon Pond

Check out our

2019 state of the pond report!

2020 state of the pond report!

Watershed

The 3968-acre watershed is located mainly in Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, and West Tisbury with a small area in Edgartown.
 

Pond

The pond has an area of 544 acres, a mean depth of 9.3 feet, and a tidal range of 1.8 feet.
 

Water Quality

The MVC categorized this pond as Impaired. Water quality is seriously deteriorated, especially in the upper basin. There is still some patchy eelgrass.
 

Massachusetts Estuaries Project

The Lagoon Pond MEP Reportwas completed September 2012. DEP determined the Total Maximum Daily Load to be (74kg/day) for the entire system. A 40% reduction in nitrogen is required to support eelgrass restoration.

Implementation

  • Oak Bluffs set up a committee to prepare recommendations about how to meet the Total Maximum Daily Load.
  • Oak Bluffs had MEP do an attenuation study of the freshwater pond at the south end of the pond.
  • Shellfish aquaculture is implemented.
  • Oak Bluffs is also doing studies to sewer areas in the watershed.
  • A ribbed mussel and salt marsh restoration project was completed with little success in Mud Creek.
  • A pilot oyster reef project has been installed in West Arm.
  • A “Floating Islands” pilot project was cmpleted with no plans to pursue a full-scale project. 

Pond Associations

  • Lagoon Pond Joint Committee
    • The Towns of Tisbury and Oak Bluffs have formed a joint wastewater planning committee for the Lagoon Pond watershed. Together they will develop recommendations for each community’s response to the findings of the Massachusetts Estuaries Project for the Lagoon. A regional approach based on watersheds has been the recommendation of the Martha's Vineyard Commission and the DEP as the most cost-effective response to nutrient loading. The first step is to compare the towns’ respective regulations to find common ground for regulating wastewater in the watershed. They will draw from the impressive data bank on technologies and their costs per pound of nitrogen removed done by the Cape Cod Commission to chart a course for the most effective plan to comply with the targeted TMDL for the Lagoon at the least cost to taxpayers. For more information, contact Tisbury Selectman Melinda Loberg or Oak Bluffs Selectman Gail Barmakian.
 

Office location:

Office location:

The Stone Building
33 New York Avenue
Oak Bluffs, MA 02557

Telephone: 508-693-3453
Fax: 508-693-7894

Mailing Address

Mailing address:

Martha's Vineyard Commission
P.O. Box 1447
Oak Bluffs, MA 02557

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