Mashpee Ponds Afflicted By Cyanobacteria, PFAS

Town of Mashpee photo of cyanobacteria at Mashpee-Wakeby Pond

MASHPEE – The Town of Mashpee is posting public advisories about several bodies of water.

Officials inspected Mashpee Wakeby Pond on Friday and detected the presence of cyanobacteria, making it unsafe for swimming.

Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health recently announced PFAS has been detected at the beaches of Johns Pond and Ashumet Pond.

Officials say swimming is not a health risk, but you should avoid swallowing water and not have contact with foam if it’s present.

The state health department also says fish from those two ponds are contaminated with PFAS and mercury. No fish caught from Ashumet should be eaten. Fish from Johns should not be eaten by children under 12, people who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. Everyone else should not eat smallmouth bass and limit consumption of other species to one meal per year.