Water Quality Monitoring & Watershed Planning Resources

Below are links to organizations and projects that are critical to health of Barnstable Harbor and nearby waters. Explore these links to learn about Water Quality Monitoring projects & Watershed Planning Resources that will help to ensure the environmental well-being of our waters and of the watersheds that are part of a healthy eco-system.

Town of Barnstable Water Resources Advisory Committee

Tasked with addressing the issues Cape Commission’s 208 Plan -development of an integrated water and wastewater management system, this newly formed town committee meets monthly. Nutrient Management & Nutrient Issues will be integral to this committee’s work, specifically Watershed Planning & Implementation for each watershed and embayment. Sewage systems as well as innovative non-traditional approaches to waste-water management will be considered.

Committee members include Barnstable Village’s Town Council Representative John Flores, Dan Santos -DPW, and representatives from 3 Bays Preservation, Barnstable Land Trust & Orenda Wildlife Land Trust.

Click the link above to meeting times & agendas, as well as videos from past meetings.

Massachusetts Estuaries Project

This project will provide water quality, nutrient loading, and hydrodynamic information for 89 estuaries in Southeastern Massachusetts. This information will be combined through the use of a linked watershed/estuary model that will predict the water quality changes that will result from land use management decisions. Over the next six years a report for each of the 89 estuaries will evaluate several water quality conditions and how that relates to the health of the estuary and the land use changes necessary to bring about that improvement.

The Report for Barnstable Harbor is scheduled for completion in 2016.