Dear Friends

The Herring Ponds Watershed Association is grateful for its generous and hard-working residents who are responsible for our success as stewards for this beautiful area that we all call home. Thanks to you, we have been able to move quickly to assess options to reduce the phosphorus that is responsible for the algae and cyanobacteria blooms in Great Herring Pond. With our partners – the Town of Plymouth and SMAST consultant – a Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) was installed this past summer in the Carters River to collect the harmful phosphorus pollutant.
We have also continued efforts to provide fun and information for our community. We plan for each effort in the key areas of water quality and community building to be successful.

Water Quality

The 2022 Water Quality Report indicated that 47% of the phosphorus entering Great Herring Pond comes from Little Herring Pond though the Ponds of Plymouth septic systems leaching into the ground water. It was hoped that the PRB would remove a significant amount of the pollutant, but, unfortunately, we learned recently that this was not the case. The HPWA Water Quality Committee is working with our partners to do the research necessary to evaluate and implement a more efficient phosphorus removal program. We remain confident that the partnership will be successful.

HPWA now has a designated Land Acquisition Fund to help Plymouth purchase land within our watershed for conservation purposes. Please consider making an extra donation to this fund; fewer homes mean fewer septic systems and less pollution, as well as more recreation opportunities.

Michelle Christensen has been a valuable addition to our HPWA Board of Directors team. She has already made valuable contributions to the Water Quality Committee and has initiated a effort with the Town of Plymouth to evaluate the septic health of watershed septic systems by monitoring pumping frequency.

Community

Your contributions will continue to support summer camp scholarships for less fortunate children at Camp Clark and the Plymouth Recreation Camp at Hedges Pond. Last year’s free boat tours were very successful thanks to the efforts of Jack Kedian and Tom O’Brien, more boat tours are planned for this summer. Thanks to Trish O’Brien, the picnic added activities that made it more fun for the entire family, plan to attend on August 9. Finally, Geri Williams has worked hard to provide informative newsletters and presentations while Tess Goldmann will chair our Herring Fest booth with its wildly popular herring obstacle course designed by members Lee Pulis and Teri Pekol. See the Calendar of Events for details of these and other events.

Please help us preserve the watershed quality of life with your membership donation during the May drive. The watershed community is strong and generous. Together, we will become even stronger, meet the challenges, and solve the pollution problem for ourselves and for future generations.

Don Williams
President, HPWA