The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Coastal Habitat and Water Quality (CHWQ) Grants fund projects that assess and treat stormwater pollution and advance habitat restoration and comprehensive restoration planning. With multiple CHWQ grants, the Town of Mashpee—in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s (DFG) Office of Fishing and Boating Access (OFBA), Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC), and Horsley Witten Group—completed this stormwater project at the public boat ramp at Mashpee-Wakeby Pond in Mashpee, one of Cape Cod’s most popular fishing and boating locations.
This page focuses on this effort that involved numerous partners and multiple benefits, including improved water quality, habitat for fish and wildlife, and public access to outdoor recreation along Mashpee-Wakeby Pond.
CHWQ Grant Details
Three CHWQ grants were awarded for design, permitting, and construction of green stormwater infrastructure, which uses natural processes to collect and filter runoff. These methods will collect and treat stormwater, prevent pollutants from entering the pond, and boost habitat for pollinators at the site.
The project also received funding from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Southeast New England Program (SNEP) Grant in partnership with Restore America’s Estuaries, OFBA funding, Town of Mashpee Community Preservation Committee funding, and private foundation funding to the APCC.
Details on the CHWQ Grants are provided here.
- Title: Public Boat Ramp Stormwater Remediation
- Funding: Awarded through multiple grant rounds: Phase 1 - regional assessment and stormwater management plan (Fiscal Year 2023); Phase 2 - permitting and final designs (Fiscal Year 2024); and Phase 3 - bidding, contracting, construction, and maintenance (Fiscal Year 2026)
- Recipients: Town of Mashpee, APCC
New Green Stormwater Infrastructure
The stormwater infrastructure practices constructed at the Mashpee-Wakeby Pond boat ramp include five infiltrating bioretention areas planted with native vegetation to capture, treat, and infiltrate stormwater and two underground infiltration chamber systems to manage and infiltrate runoff during larger storms. The site was also regraded to redirect stormwater runoff into the new treatment systems, and approximately 1,000 square feet of existing impervious pavement was removed to reduce runoff. Prior to this project, the large, paved parking area generated substantial stormwater runoff, which carried oil, salt, nutrients (such as nitrogen and phosphorus), and other contaminants to the pond. Now, the newly installed green stormwater infrastructure captures and filters those pollutants and slowly infiltrates the stormwater into the ground.
The Results - Improved Water Quality
This project will significantly reduce the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, bacteria, and sediment reaching the pond, improving water quality and recreational use, such as at the nearby Attaquin Park public beach. In addition to these local benefits, the project positively impacts the broader watershed. As the headwaters to the Mashpee River, the pond provides critical habitat for migratory river herring, which return from the sea each spring to spawn (for more about the pond’s fishery habitat, see the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife’s Mashpee-Wakeby Ponds page). Mashpee-Wakeby Pond also connects to Popponesset Bay—a coastal estuary popular for fishing, boating, and other recreation. Improved water quality in the pond will benefit the water quality downstream in Popponesset Bay.
For more detailed information about the project and additional photos, see APCC’s Mashpee-Wakeby Stormwater page.
The Benefits of Partnerships
The project has benefited from many partnerships, including the combined expertise of engineers at the state and municipal levels, technical support of the Horsley Witten Group, and funding from multiple partners. Additionally, joint management of the property provides extra support—the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Office of Fishing and Boating Access owns the boat ramp site and holds a land management agreement with the Town of Mashpee, who manages daily site use and will continue to oversee maintenance of the newly installed green stormwater infrastructure.
For more about the partnerships and benefits, see the press release, Healey-Driscoll Administration Celebrates Improvements to Mashpee-Wakeby Pond Boat Ramp.
The Bigger Picture
The Mashpee-Wakeby project is the result of a larger effort to improve the water quality of the many waterbodies and embayments across Cape Cod.
A series of APCC reports (State of the Waters: Cape Cod) determined that many saltwater embayments and freshwater ponds had unacceptable water quality. These results, along with initial assessment and design work funded through EPA’s Southeast New England Program Grant, identified Cape Cod boat ramp landing sites with direct stormwater discharge with little to no pollutant removal. These sites, including Mashpee-Wakeby Pond, were prioritized for improvements.
For a more detailed history of the process and partners, including the identification of potential sites, development of concept designs, and implementation of priorities, see APCC’s Stormwater Management at Public Boat Ramps page.
More on CHWQ Grants
See the Coastal Habitat and Water Quality Grants page for information on other funded projects, along with general details about the grants, who is eligible, guidance documents, application timelines and process, and more.
| Date published: | September 28, 2026 |
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