Falmouth Pond Coalition
To Protect and Preserve Falmouth’s Freshwater Ponds through
Organizing, Partnership, and Education
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FRESHWATER POND SCIENCE 101 ZOOM WEBINAR
THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 4:00-5:30 PM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87160986875?pwd=znULqp5EnLwRe1d1p5ExbFli4BBhab.1
The webinar will provide an introduction to Freshwater Pond Science, helping us understand the basic biological, chemical, and physical processes that govern these dynamic and critically important ecosystems. By understanding pond ecology, water quality, the biodiversity of aquatic life in our ponds, cyanobacteria, and the impacts of human activities, we will be more effective in protecting our ponds. The webinar will:
explain the importance of freshwater ponds in the ecosystem
cover the basic physical and chemical properties of freshwater ponds
identify key biological components of pond ecosystems, including plants, animals, and microorganisms
describe the nutrient cycles (nitrogen and phosphorus)
highlight human impacts on ponds, including pollution, invasive species, and conservation and restoration efforts.
Julie Hambrook Berkman, Ph.D.
As the Association to Preserve Cape Cod’s Pond and Cyanobacteria Program Manager, Julie is responsible for coordinating and managing the Pond Monitoring Program and the Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program. In her role, she builds and maintains partnerships with municipalities, agencies, organizations, and volunteers, engaging with interested citizens and organizations that care about Cape Cod’s 890 ponds to preserve pond water quality for the benefit of all.
Liz Moran, Ph.D.
Liz is a Planning and Restoration Specialist at Anchor QEA and an environmental scientist with a long career in lake and watershed management. She is also a member of the Cape Cod Commission team that is guiding the Freshwater Ponds Initiative. Liz has worked on multiple pond assessment and restoration projects across the Cape.
We hope you will join us, whether you live in Falmouth or elsewhere on Cape Cod. There is no need to register, but it would be helpful to know approximately how many people may participate. If you know you plan to attend please send a note to FPCwebinarsevents@gmail.com
Zoom Link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87160986875?pwd=znULqp5EnLwRe1d1p5ExbFli4BBhab.1
iNaturalist App
For those wanting to learn about what plants, birds, and other animals live around their ponds, we encourage you to consider using iNaturalist. You can learn more at https://www.inaturalist.org/ and by using this instructional video. Learning about the life in and around your pond can help you know what animals are disappearing, warn you about growth of invasive plants, etc.
Current Projects
Urine Diversion Pilot Project Informational Meetings
The Town of Falmouth will be conducting a urine diversion pilot project. If you are interested in attending an informational meeting to learn more about the study, please send a note, including your property address to falmouthudstudy@gmail.com. You can also call Kim Comart at 617-548-6442.
Five Ways to Preserve the Health of Your Pond
See this new document we produced for our recent forum. https://www.falmouthpondcoalition.org/resources/homeowners/preserving-your-pond
Learn About Water Issues - Join a Tour!
The Falmouth Pond Coalition organizes educational tours to increase understanding of issues affecting fresh and saltwater ponds, rivers, estuaries, and bays in Falmouth. Among the sites we visit are the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center in Mashpee. Please contact us at falmouthpondcoalition@gmail.com if you are interested in either of these tours or if you have other educational sites to recommend.
Saving our Waters by Installing Eco-Toilets and Urine Diversion Devices
Keeping urine out of our ponds, rivers, estuaries, and bays will do more to protect our waters than anything else we can do, including banning the use of fertilizers, installing Innovative/Alternative (I/A) septic systems, limiting road runoff, etc. Eco-toilets that divert urine or incinerate waste are a great option. Check out these links for the Wostman Eco-Flush and the Cinderella Comfort. Please contact falmouthpondcoalition@gmail.com for more information.
In the News...
Falmouth Enterprise – July 5, 2024
Volunteers Build Detailed Database Of Pond Health Throughout Falmouth
Three women each raised their hands to their brows, blocking the sun as they looked out over Cedar Lake where they watched a contractor spread an herbicide in the water from a boat. It is a special kind of herbicide, both they and Falmouth Pond Coalition founder Kim Comart said, one specifically designed to kill one pesky and invasive plant: fanwort.
One of the women, Joyce L. Bock, whose home offered the perfect vantage point for viewing the contractors’ work, said it probably got into the waterbody when someone dumped their home aquarium out into the water. Now, it has taken over a substantial portion of the lake and when it blooms white flowers over the surface of the water, she said it looks like a meadow. The contractors were being paid with funds raised by neighbors of the pond for the first phase of a project years in the making, she said. The immediate plan is to rid half of the lake of fanwort. The other half will be funded in the second phase, although Ms. Bock did not know when that phase will be approved.
See full article at:
https://www.capenews.net/falmouth/eedition/page-f1/page_c3d67275-57c4-53d2-8e3c-20638dfcc683.html
Falmouth Enterprise – May 31, 2024
Water Quality Advocates Want To Make UD Project Less Restrictive
A urine-diversion study is on the horizon and the Falmouth Water Quality Management Committee has wrestled with the details of how it might work, specifically whether homeowners participating in a pilot project would have to swap out all their toilets for urine-diverting devices.
Members discussed the topic during their meeting on May 22, two days after the select board approved an agreement with the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center for a urine-diversion feasibility study.
The study, funded with $80,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, will address unanswered questions about a potential town-funded urine-diversion pilot project. The three-year project would gather data from up to 75 participating households to measure the effectiveness of the practice and give the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection information on whether urine diversion is a technology that could effectively replace expensive innovative/alternative septic systems.
Urine diversion is a wastewater management method in which urine is collected instead of being flushed down the toilet. Nitrogen and phosphorus are nutrients found in human pee, so diverting urine from the waste stream lowers the amount of those nutrients that can make their way into the town’s estuaries. That would help the town meet state requirements for Falmouth and other Cape Cod towns for reducing nitrogen in local watersheds in coming years.
See full article at:
(click on bold type above or use link below to find additional news)
We would like to thank The Falmouth Enterprise for their commitment to local journalism and hope you'll help them continue to cover critical environmental issues by becoming a subscriber and patronizing and thanking their advertisers.
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