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Water Quality Monitoring

19 Years Safeguarding Local Waters
The Water Quality Program is completing its 19th year
of monitoring Cape Cod’s coastal waters, gathering
environmental data and water samples from more than
100 stations across the region’s marine and estuarine
environments. These data are publicly accessible on the
program’s standalone website, capecodbay-monitor.org.

Over nearly two decades, the Center has built collaborations
with various institutions, expanding into new areas of
research. Partnering with the Waquoit Bay National
Estuarine Research Reserve (WBNERR), the Center supports
the BayWatchers program and provides lab assistance for
ongoing monitoring efforts related to the Upper Child’s River
Restoration project in Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge.
This year, the Center partnered with researchers from MIT
to study ocean acidification in Cape Cod Bay. The team also This map charts the location of over
wrapped up its second year working with the Association 100 sites where Center for Coastal
Studies staff and volunteers
to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC) to monitor 50 freshwater monitor coastal and estuarine
ponds as part of the Cape Cod Freshwater Initiative led by water quality.
the Cape Cod Commission. The Center’s lab also analyzes
nutrient levels to assess the effects of APCC’s Weir Creek
Tidal Restoration Project in Dennis, MA.
Continuing its longstanding approach of supporting citizen
scientists, the Water Quality Monitoring program relies on
dedicated volunteers to monitor 20 sites from Provincetown
to Plymouth, ensuring comprehensive coverage of the
Cape’s waters.
Volunteer Marjorie Kehne
samples for turbidity for the
Water Quality Monitoring
program at Pilgrim Lake, Truro.

Volunteer Ed Maheigan
Lab Technician Priya Gahir tests the alkalinity of pond water collects water samples on Bay
samples for the Association to Preserve Cape Cod. Shore Drive in Plymouth.
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