<p>The popular freshwater swimming hole in West Tisbury reopened Tuesday morning after being closed due to high bacteria counts.</p>
Ice House Pond reopened to swimming Tuesday morning after being closed due to high bacteria counts.
Popular freshwater swimming hole has been owned by the land bank since 2003.
Popular freshwater swimming hole has been owned by the land bank since 2003.
The remote kettle pond and popular freshwater swimming hole off Lambert’s Cove Road in West Tisbury was closed on July 25 after testing over the state limit for enterococci last week, land bank land manager Ian Peach said Monday.
The land banks owns and manages Manaquayak Preserve, a 35.5-acre property that offers the only public access to Ice House.
Mr. Peach said the pond was closed on Wednesday after a repeat test stayed above the state threshold of 61 colonies per hundred milliliters.
Enterococci is a bacteria that can cause infections.
Mr. Peach said the cause of the bacteria is unknown.
“Unfortunately we can’t be exactly sure,” he said. “Sometimes it’s wildlife or animal feces but I can’t speculate.”
He said testing will continue to be done weekly.
Property was expanded and trailhead changed in 2015.
Property was expanded and trailhead changed in 2015.
Samples are sent to the Wampanoag laboratory in Aquinnah.
Mr. Peach said on Monday that land bank records for the past three years show there has been one or two spikes in bacteria counts at least once a summer.
“But there has never been a sustained spike,” he said.
The land bank limits access to Ice House through restricted parking and also by monitoring the number of swimmers in the pond.
Seth’s Pond — a larger cousin to Ice House that fronts Lambert’s Cove Road and has more public access, remains open, West Tisbury town officials said Monday.
The land bank bought the original Ice House property in 2003. The property was expanded significantly in 2015 with the addition of 22 acres and the main access point was moved to off Lambert’s Cove Road. The old access point is now restricted to neighbors and people over 70, or people who need assisted access.
Holly Pretsky contributed reporting.
Comments
As more and more people are
Carol formerly ChilmarkAs more and more people are on the Vineyard - how long until the Island realizes that all of that massive amount of human waste needs to go into a sewer system, NOT into septic tanks??!!
This problem could be
Donald Muckerheide Oak BluffsThis problem could be significantly re-mediated with the new technology the current "powers that be" wish to ignore. The Toring turbine dissolved oxygen generator would to wonders to grow beneficial microbes that would consume the sediment that pollutes the pond. The last thing these people want is solutions to environmental problems that they do not profit from. I have one of these units on Island if anyone wants to study results instead of fraudulent theories.
I have seen how this water is
Joanna Cole ChilmarkI have seen how this water is tested and it is hardly systematic and/or definitive. A young person steps to the water's edge and dips a mayonnaise jar into the water. There is no sampling from different points on the pond, no rowboat to take samples away from the shore, no taking of multiple samples.
Given this method, it is very easy to collect water at the exact spot that some animal has pooped in the last few hours.
I regard this water testing as close to completely unreliable as it could be. I certainly wouldn't jump to any conclusions based on it.
No offense but h2o testing is
Bob OBNo offense but h2o testing is NOT rocket science, nor does it require an advanced degree in microbiology.
Kudos !
Jim Lukas BarnstableKudos !
Examine the examiner!
As a professional who has developed a jaundiced eye from the poor design and implementation of sampling, measurement and expirements for 50 years-
Look at the test!
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