Location: Paw Wah (aka Paw Waw or Pah Wah) Pond is a drowned kettle salt pond located in South Orleans bordered by Namequoit Road and the Namequoit Bog to the north, Paw Wah Conservation Area to the east, Little Pleasant Bay to the south and Thelma’s/Lockwood Lanes to the west.
Access: There are two town landings at Paw Wah Pond, one on the north side, the other just to the south of the pond.
The easiest boat access to Paw Wah Pond is from the bulkhead/boat ramp on the south side, at the end of Portanimicut Road. There is parking along the street and some parking places (including spaces for trailers) at Smith Beach Conservation Area just before the boat ramp. The parking on the bulkhead is time limited. The entire area goes under water in high tide, often deep enough to damage your vehicle! Parking along the road, at Smith Beach and on the bulkhead is seasonally resident sticker restricted. Visit the town website for information on restrictions. From that boat launch, turn left to enter Paw Wah Pond; right to enter Little Pleasant Bay.
There is also a smaller town landing on the north side, at the end of the wide area of Namequoit Road just before it narrows. That access can be mucky and difficult to traverse, but it is a very short distance to launch a canoe or kayak. There is limited parking on the street.
Lovely views of the pond and Little Pleasant Bay are available from Paw Wah Conservation Area (just up the hill after Namequoit Road narrows, with parking on the right). Please remain on the trails and do not walk into the marsh fringing the Pond as it is healthy and needs to remain so!
Description: Paw Wah Pond is approximately 8 acres in size and about 4.5 meters or just under 15 feet deep. It is hydro-connected to Namequoit Bog and to Little Pleasant Bay. The channel from the pond to Portanimicut town landing is very shallow. It is navigable by kayak but difficult for power or sail for several hours either side of low tide.
Salt marsh surrounds the pond which is impaired by too much nitrogen, primarily from septic effluent. The Watershed to the pond is entirely within Orleans and it is planned to be either sewered or remediated with a Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) as part of wastewater phases 6 and 8. The Namequoit Bog is a prior cranberry bog and Atlantic White Cedar Swamp which is owned by the Orleans Conservation Trust and currently under study to determine the best management for the area. Options include restoring the Swamp or enlarging the culvert which connects the bog to Paw Wah Pond under Namequoit Road in order to increase tidal flow and allow the area to convert to salt marsh. Salt marsh naturally attenuates nitrogen and is a priority habitat given losses due to climate change and rising waters.
Commercial Activity: While there is no current commercial activity on Paw Wah Pond, the landing at the end of Portanimicut is often used by aquaculture farmers in Little Pleasant Bay. In addition, in the early 1960s, #157 Namequoit was owned by Dana Eldrege where he grew oyster seed and maintained an upweller (system to grow baby oysters) in the lowest level basement. The boathouse on that property is one of the oldest on Pleasant Bay and was relocated to it’s current site in 1963.
Fishing and Shell Fishing: The pond is usually closed to shell fishing due to high bacterial counts. Abutters note that seals are generally more successful then people in catching finfish.
Recreational Activities: Boating, sailing, kayaking are all popular on this lovely, quiet pond and bird watching includes an osprey nest in the marsh of Paw Wah Conservation Area.
Interesting Facts: Indigenous peoples called the Pond “Ottinamut” and it was the home of “Old Pompmo the Medicine Man, a powerful Paw Waw of the Indians” (From The Bay as I See It by W. Sears Nickerson). Legend recalls he went through the ice while fishing and drowned. But his power was so strong that even today if you wish to be successful fishing in Paw Wah Pond, you must call on Pompmo with an offering of respect and request for a good catch. The area around the pond was widely used by the Wampanoag people as is the entire area which now comprises Orleans.