The algae blooms that plague South Watuppa Pond could take years to address. But officials studying the pond's health say it can clearly be improved, though doing so will take a concerted and sustained effort by the towns of Westport, Tiverton and Fall River, as well as work and diligence from those who live in its large watershed area.

Officials from the three towns have been studying the pond's health together since last fall, when they received a $100,000 grant from BayCoast Bank and agreed to work together to find the cause of the cyanobacterial algae blooms that have plagued South Watuppa in recent years. Seasonal blooms of the neon-bright algae have led to swimming advisories and other recreational use concerns, and have also impacted the ability to use the pond as a backup water supply.

Since forming the partnership last fall, officials have been using sampling, GIS mapping and other means to study the pond and its watershed, which covers nearly 9,000 acres. So far, they have found that phosphorous, the main driver of the yearly blooms, ends up in the pond from multiple sources — runoff over impervious surfaces, from failing or inadequate septic systems in Tiverton and Westport, from wildlife, and from the pond itself, which contains measurable amounts of the chemical in its bottom sediments.

While studies and additional samples will continue, it is clear that decreasing the blooms will require many solutions, the project's lead said

"Remediation is going to be a multi-pronged approach," said Paul Ferland, who serves as deputy administrator for the Fall River Department of Community Utilities. "There's going to definitely need to be a lot of stormwater work within the watershed," as well as public outreach and chemical treatments in the pond itself to lessen the amount of phosphorous.

There are many things homeowners can do to lessen their impact on the problem, he said, including keeping their yards free of leaves, using phosphorous-free soaps, and other measures. And while those are only a part of a possible solution, "public outreach is going to be a major component" of future work, he said.

While the three towns are wrapping up their first report on South Watuppa, the City of Fall River has applied for a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant with the state's executive office of energy and environmental affairs. The grant would fund a feasibility study to look into proposed solutions, and members of the Westport Select Board endorsed the application at its meeting Monday night.

"Our community, along with Fall River and Tiverton ... recognizes the need to improve water quality in the South Watuppa Pond watershed," Westport Town Administrator James Hartnett wrote in a letter of support for the grant.

"The resulting project will improve the long-term health and resiliency of the pond," he wrote.

"This ongoing study to evaluate the external impacts to the watershed will provide recommendations to support a long-term plan to improve conditions in the pond (and) would be crucial to supporting a long-term plan to improve conditions in the pond."

NOTE: Want to learn more? Scientific data collected over the past several months, and other aspects of the tri-town study, can be found at .