Does Cape Cod geology play a role in the nutrient problems?
Yes, the Cape is the product of massive glaciers that moved sand and gravel and boulders from the north and created the moraines and outwash plains of the Cape and Islands. The ponds are kettle holes resulting from blocks of ice left behind when the glaciers retreated and the elongate estuaries are “spring-sapping” valleys that formed by ground water flow and were later flooded by marine waters when the sea level rose. The result is that the Cape is much like a sponge and all of the surface water and ground water is closely connected. We depend on groundwater for domestic use but everything we put onto or into the ground ultimately makes its way through our sandy soils to our estuaries and then Buzzards Bay or Vineyard Sound.
