Salt Water

Coastal Water Nutrient Monitoring Program

Chatham Water Watchers, in cooperation with the Town of Chatham and the Pleasant Bay Alliance, collect and test water samples in Chatham's estuaries five times per summer at biweekly intervals during July and August and once in early September. Volunteers are trained by Dr. Robert Duncanson, Director of Chatham's Department of Health and Natural Resources, to directly assess water quality by measuring water clarity, salinity, temperature and dissolved oxygen content and taking water samples at varying depths. Collected data and water samples are analyzed by the UMass School of Marine Science and Technology in Dartmouth.

The program's history began in 1994 when the Massachusetts State Executive Office of Environmental Affairs endorsed a Stage Harbor Management Plan approved by Chatham's town meeting. Chatham's plan was the first to be adopted by a Massachusetts town and became a model for other towns. Friends of Chatham Waterways (FCW) aided in the development of the Stage Harbor Plan which called for the design of a water quality monitoring program in efforts to better understand and manage wastewater from homes, businesses and storm water runoff. In 1999,FCW worked cooperatively with the town to implement this plan which became the Coastal Water Nutrient Monitoring Program.

In 2022, 38 FCW Water Watcher volunteers monitored 15 stations in Chatham's estuaries, completing the 23rd consecutive year of the Coastal Water Nutrient Monitoring Program. Since it is imperative to monitor water quality over a long period, Chatham Water Watchers will continue their work over the years ahead. Once more wastewater has begun to be treated, there will be a need for continued monitoring to assess progress against algae, low dissolved oxygen and decayed bottom sediment, all of which contribute to the loss of plant life and animal species in our waterways.