The warm weather has arrived, the children are out of school and summer activities are in full swing. I happily witnessed the installation of a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) in the Carters River a few days ago with the aim of reducing the chances of a harmful Cyanobacteria bloom in Great Herring Pond by trapping and removing phosphorus coming from Little Herring Pond. Please read the article for details.

Jack Kedian and I took 19 samples around Great Herring Pond on June 20 and had them analyzed for E. coli prior to the July 4^th holiday week.  None of the samples tested near the 235 colonies/100ml limit for safe swimming.  All but one location had either <5 (15 locations) or 5 (3 locations) colonies/100 except for the southwest cove boat ramp which had 20 colonies/100ml.  All the usual swimming areas had minimal levels, so “swim on.”  We will take these samples again in July and August for your safety.  In addition, we will continue to take regular water quality samples through and including October and keep close watch on cyanobacteria.  Please, if you see something suspicious, call (508-833-4355) or email (donald_r_williams2003@yahoo.com) and let me know.

The Herring Ponds Watershed Association is hosting many fun events this summer. Please plan to attend some of them to meet your watershed neighbors and your Board of Directors (we do appreciate your input!) and to learn more about our watershed. Details of all our events are listed on our webpage: TheHerringPondsWatershed.org

We will have our Annual Meeting on Thursday, August 22nd at 7 pm. The tentative plan is for me to give a short PowerPoint presentation on the PRB phosphorus removal, answer your questions, and field your comments. I hope to see you there or sometime this summer at one of our upcoming events. Perhaps we will see you hiking or walking in Comassakumkanut or the Alper Preserves that your generous donations helped the Town purchase for all future generations.

Don Williams