Waquoit Bay is worth fighting for.
Citizens for the Protection of Waquoit Bay is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the restoration, preservation and protection of Waquoit Bay and its estuaries through research, advocacy, stewardship, education and collaboration.
Latest news
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CPWB launches new website
CPWB has a new website: daily news on the bay, a growing research library, plain-language explainers, a community calendar and an easier way to join.
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Long Island Sound volunteers plant eelgrass seeds by attaching them to clams
Save the Sound is restoring eelgrass in Long Island Sound by attaching seeds to clam shells that bury themselves in the sediment. Drone images show meadow coverage up 178 percent a year…
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CPWB urges Falmouth to make Waquoit Bay its first sewer priority after the outfall
CPWB President Maggie Megaw told Falmouth’s Water Quality Management Committee to rethink its sewer schedule and start on Waquoit Bay first once the outfall pipe is running, with the main line down…
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Falmouth boards meet to coordinate draft plans for cutting nitrogen, with sewers and new septic systems
Falmouth’s Select Board, Board of Health and two committees met October 16 on draft watershed plans that combine sewer expansion with nitrogen-removing septic systems, with state submission due by 2029.
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Barnstable County series profiles AdvanTex, a nitrogen-reducing septic system sold on Cape Cod
Barnstable County’s System Shift series interviews an Orenco sales manager on AdvanTex I/A (nitrogen-reducing) septic systems: rising Cape demand driven by nitrogen rules, and phosphorus as the next challenge.
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Mashpee officials say town’s flow neutral bylaw is too vague and needs a rewrite
Mashpee’s Environmental Oversight Committee backed a plan to ask the town manager to start rewriting the town’s flow neutral bylaw, which staff say is too vague to enforce and could put state…
Events
- Thu, Nov 5 · 6:00 pm · Mashpee Town Hall
Upper Quashnet River Restoration: Community Meeting
The project team presents the 50% design plans for the Upper Quashnet River restoration and gathers input on trails, parking, signage and…
- Sun, Nov 8 · 2:00 pm · Grange Hall at the Nye Museum
Sandwich Conservation Trust Annual Meeting: Ecology of a Cape Cod Salt Marsh
The Sandwich Conservation Trust gathers for its annual meeting at the Grange Hall at the Nye Museum, starting with cider and light…
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Get regular email updates on news, events and new research from Waquoit Bay, plus a heads-up when something important comes up. Unsubscribe anytime.
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Storm Drain Adoption
Don’t let Waquoit Bay go down the drain.
Every storm drain in Falmouth and Mashpee carries rainwater, and whatever it picks up, straight into the watershed. Pick a drain near you, check it once a year and after heavy rain, and log what you see.
Learn about the bay
Plain-language explainers and research summaries on the science and the policy.
Start here
About Waquoit Bay
The bay, its rivers and its watershed in one overview: its long history, why nitrogen is the core problem, how a warming climate adds to it, and why recovery is possible.
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Too much of a good thing: what extra nitrogen does to Waquoit Bay
Extra nitrogen sets off a chain reaction under the surface: seaweed smothers the eelgrass, floating algae then shade out the seaweed, and the dead algae become oxygen-hungry muck.
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Where should seagrass protection start? A 2026 global warning says protect existing meadows and fix local pressures first
Nine seagrass scientists argue that local pressures like poor water quality, dredging and anchoring drive most losses and can be managed. Protecting existing meadows should come before restoration, and wastewater upgrades have…
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How clean must the water be for transplanted eelgrass to survive? A nitrogen threshold from Danish estuaries
In 120 test plantings across seven Danish estuaries, transplanted eelgrass generally gained shoots only where growth-season dissolved nitrogen averaged below about 3.7 micromoles per liter. Nitrogen-rich inner waters lost shoots.
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Are U.S. estuaries warming and losing oxygen? Twenty years of sensor data from 29 reserves, including Waquoit Bay
Twenty years of sensor data from 29 U.S. estuaries show rising algae and water temperature at about two-thirds of sites and falling oxygen at half. Changing nutrients, more than warming, appear to…
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How will climate change reshape seagrass meadows? A global outlook and a three-part plan for resilience
A 16-author review says warming, darker water is already replacing long-lived seagrasses with opportunistic ones that store up to 11 times less carbon in their tissues, and urges planting climate-ready meadows.
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Can restoring an old farmed wetland stand in for sewers? A southeastern Massachusetts test
A restored wetland in southeastern Massachusetts held back 28% of the nitrate flowing into it, about half what natural wetlands manage. Most of its nitrogen came from wastewater and lawn fertilizer.
Newsletter archive
Past issues of CPWB’s printed newsletter, each with a summary of what’s inside and the full PDF.