Joint Base Approved To Stop Testing At Sandwich Pond

Snake Pond in Sandwich, February 27th 2025. Photo credit: Jim McCabe

SANDWICH – The Sandwich Board of Health has given permission to Joint Base Cape Cod to stop a longtime water-body testing program.

The impact on public meetings caused by the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the health board’s approval of this request from JBCC regarding Snake Pond in Forestdale.

A liaison for Joint Base told the board last summer that all historic sampling from Snake Pond for explosives and perchlorate chemicals have either come back as non-detectable or trace amounts at the most.

Officials have repeatedly stated the pond is safe for recreational use.

Snake Pond in Sandwich, February 27th 2025. Photo credit: Jim McCabe

Efforts to clean up pollution at Joint Base have been ongoing for decades. The EPA said in 2023 that parts of Cape Cod’s sole-source aquifer were contaminated by fuel spills and training activities at the site.

Last September, Governor Maura Healey blocked a proposed National Guard machine gun range at the base which had faced local opposition because of the perceived threat to the drinking water supply.