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The Wachusett Dam in
Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...
, Massachusetts, impounds the Nashua River, creating the Wachusett Reservoir. Construction started in 1897 and was completed in 1905. It is part of the Nashua River Watershed. This dam is part of greater Boston's water system, maintained and controlled by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). Its discharge is into the Nashua River. When it was completed in 1905, the Wachusett Reservoir was the largest public water supply reservoir in the world.History: Wachusett
/ref> At that time, the Wachusett Reservoir Dam was the largest
gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation to oppose the horizontal pressure of water pushing against it. ...
in the world as well.


Construction

The Metropolitan Water Board selected the south branch of the Nashua River in Clinton as the best site for Boston's new water supply over New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee, Maine's Sebago Lake, and the Merrimack River. Churches, factories, homes, and schools within the valley had to be knocked down or moved. Roads and rail lines had to be relocated; a railroad tunnel and trestle had to be built in order to relocate the Central Massachusetts Railroad, and over four thousand bodies had to be dug up and moved in the local Catholic cemetery. The project brought thousands of immigrants to the area for work. The dam created the world's largest water supply reservoir at the time. It is still considered the largest "hand dug" dam in the world today.


Early problems

A static liquefaction flow failure occurred in the upstream slope of the North Dike of Wachusett Dam near Clinton, Massachusetts on April 11, 1907 during the first reservoir filling. The fine sands of the upstream dike shell liquefied and flowed approximately 100 meters horizontally into the reservoir.


Gallery

Image:Wachusett-dam-outlet.jpg, Wachusett Dam outlet Image:Wachusett Dam reservoir side.jpg, The reservoir side of the dam Image:Wachusett-dam-plaque.jpg, The plaque on the dam Image:Wachusett Dam reservoir side 2.jpg, Rough-hewn rocks lining the reservoir Image:Wachusett reservoir.jpg, The reservoir itself Image:Wachusett Dam, Clinton MA.jpg, The dam from downstream


See also

*
Wachusett Aqueduct The Wachusett Aqueduct is a secondary aqueduct that carries water from the Wachusett Reservoir to the John J. Carroll Water Treatment Plant at Walnut Hill in Marlborough, Massachusetts. It is part of the public water supply system for the commu ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Worcester County, Massachusetts


References


External links

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USGS
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Dams in Massachusetts Historic districts in Worcester County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Clinton, Massachusetts Dams completed in 1905 National Register of Historic Places in Worcester County, Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Dams on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts 1905 establishments in Massachusetts