Dredging News!

We have great news to share with the Chilmark Pond community. After 5 years of tireless effort in a very challenging permitting climate, CPF has secured all permissions needed to dredge Chilmark Pond! The Foundation plans to have the dredging and beach nourishment work performed between November 15-December 31 of this year.

The entire CPF Board has focused their efforts on this arduous process, but we would be remiss if we did not single out Amy Salzman whose expertise and persistence brought us over the finish line. Thank you, Amy.

We need to dredge because sand builds up in the pond as a result of the ocean’s action to close a breach. This results in more sand coming into the pond than is pushed out and has created a delta of sand that impedes the flow of water out and into the pond, reducing the flushing capacity of each “cut”. Cuts are an effective and efficient management tool to reduce flooding and to flush the Pond with cool, salty, and clean (low nitrogen/phosphorus) seawater.

Our monitoring shows that recent cuts have been limited in duration and volume of water exchanged because of the build-up of sand. Dredging is a proven and effective tool to increase the benefits of cuts at Edgartown Great Pond and elsewhere. Cuts remain the most immediate way to increase the health of Chilmark Pond, and it is our expectation that dredging will quickly improve the effectiveness of cuts. The latest cut on March 2nd lasted for 4 days. We will continue to monitor and share the results with you.

CPF is committed to restoring the health of Chilmark Pond and we need your help to do so. As a member of the Pond community, please consider making a donation to help us remediate this precious ecological treasure.