Winnapaug Pond

The Shallowest Pond

Winnapaug or Brightman’s Pond, in Westerly, has a small watershed compared to the other salt ponds.  The shoreline is densely developed and includes golf courses, a developed beach area, residential areas, and active aquaculture. Misquamicut State Beach and Westerly Town Beach are located a short distance south of the pond.

Water is exchanged with the ocean via the Weekapaug Breachway. There are several factors that make Winnapaug the shallowest salt pond. Sand erodes from the ocean side of the barrier beach and carries into the pond via the breachway where it is distributed across the pond floor. Further, hurricanes create shoals in the southern part of the pond when sand is windswept over the barrier beach into the pond.  Dredging was recently done to encourage eel grass recolonization.  Despite the shoals, Winnapaug enjoys a large volume of tidal flushing that keeps water quality high.

Winnapaug Pond is the setting for a famous U.S. Supreme Court Case, Palazzolo v. Rhode Island. Read more here.