Sesachacha Pond gets flushed
While Daffodil revelers uncorked champagne on Main Street lawns in 'Sconset early Saturday afternoon, the town opened Sesachacha Pond to the ocean.

About 20 people gathered to watch John Correia, the island's sole pond opener dig the trench across the barrier beach between the pond and the ocean with his excavator.

Town Biologist Keith Conant said that by Sunday, the opening had formed an S-turn to the north and was showing signs of closing sooner than he wanted it to. Yet, as of late yesterday morning, the cut in the beach was wide open. He added that this opening went much better than any in the last three years, greatly improving the salinity of the pond.

The town opens Sesachacha and Hummock ponds to allow eels and herring in and out for breeding purposes and to boost the pond's salinity up to a healthy range between 18 and 20 parts per thousand. Prior to opening this pond, salinity levels were at 12 parts per thousand. If the salinity does not rise enough, Conant would like to open Sesachacha a second time in mid-summer before the fall opening.

Conant specifically had Correia dig the trench on the far south side of the barrier beach to channel the longest and deepest expanse of the pond from its west shore to the east in order to get a good outward velocity going. Conant also wanted to avoid the formation of the sand spit that builds north from the south side of the pond's beach, restricting flow of the water in and out of the trench.

- Peter B. Brace