The Quabbin Aqueduct carries water from the

Quabbin Reservoir The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, and was built between 1930 and 1939. Along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, to the east, and 40 other cities and towns in Greate ...

to the

Wachusett Reservoir The Wachusett Reservoir is the second largest body of water in the state of Massachusetts. It is located in central Massachusetts, northeast of Worcester. It is part of the water supply system for metropolitan Boston maintained by the Massachuset ...

. It is part of the Eastern

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

public water supply system, maintained by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (

MWRA The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is a public authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that provides wholesale drinking water and sewage services to certain municipalities and industrial users in the state, primarily in ...

). At in length, it is one of the longest aqueduct tunnels in the world being mile (0.8 km) shorter than the

Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years bef ...

Physical characteristics

Water from the capacity

flows through the Quabbin Aqueduct from the northeast side of the Quabbin, up a slope to the

Ware River Diversion The Ware River Diversion is a dam on the Ware River. It is part of the Boston, Massachusetts public water supply system, maintained by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). It is located in Worcester County in the town of Barre, clo ...

in South

Barre, Massachusetts Barre ( ) is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,530 at the 2020 census. History Originally called the Northwest District of Rutland, it was first settled by Europeans in 1720. The town was incorpora ...

, down again to the

, and then through a power station near the Oakdale section of

West Boylston, Massachusetts West Boylston is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States and a northern suburb of Worcester. The population was 7,877 at the 2020 census. West Boylston includes the village of Oakdale, located on the opposite side of the Wachu ...

. This upward and downward flow occurs by natural siphon action, with the high point in the siphon being at the

. The water surface at the Quabbin Reservoir is about 524 feet (159.7 m) above

Mean Sea Level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

(MSL). The water surface at the

is about 384 feet (117.1 m) above MSL, and the water surface at the Ware River Diversion is about 660 feet (201 m) higher than MSL.

Novelty

A natural siphon can only lift water about , with the aqueduct located several hundred feet underground in places – however the water head is only about 25 feet (8 m) on the suction side of the aqueduct. Portions of the aqueduct follow the route of the Ware River Railway that was discontinued with the building of the

. The siphon starts at the

by feeding the river water into the aqueduct. If the aqueduct branch which travels to the

(the Wachusett-Coldbrook branch) is closed, then Ware River water feeds into the Quabbin Reservoir for storage; however, if the Wachusett branch is open, then water flows into both the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs. When the Wachusett branch begins to create sufficient suction as it fills, then the Ware River Diversion inlet is closed and water flows from the Quabbin to the Wachusett Reservoir as a natural siphon.

References

Notes {{reflist Bibliography
Federal order detailing the system and requiring changes, especially to water transport east of aqueduct
May 13, 1999.

accessed July 17, 2007. Aqueducts in Massachusetts Tunnels in Massachusetts Transportation buildings and structures in Worcester County, Massachusetts Tunnels completed in 1933 Water tunnels in the United States

Physical characteristics

Novelty

See also

References