Chatham-Cape Cod
 

We are headed to Chatham for a week with our 2 young kids and was wondering if there was any town pool in the area. I know the beaches are great and Oyster Pond is within walking distance from our rental house, but we want to know what all of our activity options are.

You would be wise to check out alternative swimming options. Things may have changed since we have not had small children swimming in Oyster Pond for a decade, but it is not unusual for the Town of Chatham to close the pond to swimming in the middle of the summer due to poor water quality. A back up swimming location is a good idea! For all of your options contact the Chamber of Commerce...they should be able to help you out.

Rather than swimming in a pool, consider one of the freshwater ponds. I think Schoolhouse Pond is one. There are a number of them accessible from Harwich; don't know if you'll be at that end of Chatham or not.

Schoolhouse requires a resident sticker, or at least used to. Call the town to see how you can arrange to park there. It's nice for young kids, though, as there's a roped-off area and a lifeguard . . . and the water's warm.

Oyster Pond is a very large body of water that is fed by Nantucket Sound via Stage Harbor. It really isn't a 'pond' at all. I have never known it to be closed in the summer in all my years of living in Chatham. It is never stagnant and the water quality is consistently excellent. The high and low tides help keep the water quality high. This "Children's Beach" boasts a new bathhouse and is a short walk to some restaurants. Parking is free. There are other ponds called "Oyster Pond" on the Cape. But the pond in Chatham is ok.

When the water temperature in Oyster Pond increases during the summer months, the usual "flushing" action of the tide is not sufficient to clean the water in some parts of the "pond". Thus the shellfish closures and occasional beach closures. (The water quality standards for swimming are lower than those for shellfish because they assume that the swimmers will not be swallowing the water...which may or may not be true for 2 young kids.) After a rain the situation is at its worst. The town monitors these waters regularly and has plans to improve the water quality. I stand by my original post on this matter. You can check out these for references.

"The stormwater from the Town Center is considered a primary source of bacterial pollution in the northern and eastern sections of Oyster Pond. Currently, shellfishing is prohibited from a 12.2 acre section, and closed seasonally in an adjacent area of 103 acres because of bacteria levels. Treating the stormwater draining from the Town Center will improve water quality in this section of Oyster Pond."
http://www.mass.gov/czm/prcha96.htm

“Oyster Pond is one of the worst areas in town,”
http://www.wickedlocal.com/chatham/n...ats-sewer-deal

The areas of Oyster Pond that have been closed are to insure Shellfish Closures. This naturally occuring 'bacteria' affects shellfish, not people. Oyster Pond is quite large and the children's beach has not been closed.

The article about Chatham Bars Inn was referring to their great contribution of exploring the feasibility of providing an updated sewage system to the homes around Oyster Pond. The homes in this area are indeed underserved. There is absolutely no fear here of human waste being pumped into any part of Oyster Pond. To imply such is irresponsible and a deliberate misinterpretation of the facts.

There are many other beaches in the area and some of the Natural Seashore beaches are a short drive away in Eastham. These are also memorable beaches to visit. Even these beaches fell victim to 'red tide' again this past summer.

To answer your original question - no there is not a town pool.

The first link brings the reader to an article from 1996, quite a long time ago I would say:


State Awards Environmental Grant to Chatham

October 22, 1996
Contact: Anne Donovan
(617) 727-9530 x411

Chatham is quite a ways ahead of the other towns on Cape Cod in recognizing and planning to improve the water quality in coastal embayments and ponds. The town has its own Biologist who has spearheaded research, improved water-flow in critical areas and brought water quality to the forefront in public discussion. No doubt about it....Chatham will be one of the leaders in improving water quality on Cape Cod. They are well positioned to receive state grants to tackle sewering the town and controlling storm water run-off.

Oyster Pond is open to clammers as of 12/08 and the clam beds are overflowing with their harvest. Runoffs have been addressed and the clams are there for anyone with a permit. As of this writing, clammers are being allowed to harvest 4 bushels. Great news for a great little town!

Hey that's great news!....It's the first time in my memory (which goes back 30 years) that the water has been clean enough in Oyster Pond to open for shell-fishing. What are you digging? Steamers or quahogs?

Clamming in Oyster Pond was common up until 3 years ago. The water runoff from the road proved to be a problem for quahogs, not people. This drainage issue has been corrected.

The clams are 3 deep. The water that feeds Oyster Pond also feeds Stage Harbor, a popular clamming site that we've all enjoyed and clammed commercially.

Well that's great news! Here's what the local paper had to say about it :
" CHATHAM — It was an amazing scene at the eastern end of the Oyster Pond Monday morning, when as many as 80 shellfishermen crowded the flats to collect a huge bounty of quahogs. Thanks to a new stormwater treatment system installed two years ago, water in that part of the Oyster Pond is now clean enough to allow it to be opened to shellfishing for the first time in about 35 years."

Again: This refers to a very small part of Oyster Pond. This pond has been consistently clammed for years non-stop. The area being referenced was never used as a swimming area either.

For those who are really interested in a better understanding of this complex problem that affects All of Cape Cod it would be better to look at the website noted below than to trust the comments of yb who means well but does not know what he is talking about:



http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dmf/progr...psp_notice.htm