The Wachusett Reservoir is the second largest body of water in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
. It is located in central Massachusetts, northeast of
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
. It is part of the
water supply system
A water supply network or water supply system is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components that provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes the following:
# A drainage basin (see water purification – source ...
for metropolitan
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
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 ...
). It has an aggregate capacity of and an area of almost . Water from the reservoir flows to the covered
Norumbega Storage Facility
Norumbega, or Nurembega, is a Legend, legendary Human settlement, settlement in northeastern North America which was featured on many early maps from the 16th century until European colonization of the region. It was alleged that the houses had p ...
via the
Cosgrove Tunnel
The Cosgrove Aqueduct, also called the Cosgrove Tunnel, forms part of the water supply system for the communities of the Greater Boston area in eastern Massachusetts that are served by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. It is a man-made t ...
and the
MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel. The reservoir has a maximum depth of and a mean depth of .
The reservoir serves as both an intermediate storage reservoir for 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 ...
, and a water source itself, fed by its own watershed. The
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
is fed by the
Quinapoxet and
Stillwater rivers, along with the
Quabbin Aqueduct
The Quabbin Aqueduct carries water from the Quabbin Reservoir to the Wachusett Reservoir. It is part of the Eastern Massachusetts public water supply system, maintained by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). At in length, it is o ...
, which carries water from the Quabbin Reservoir. It is part of the
Nashua River
The Nashua River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United States. It i ...
watershed, forming the headwaters of the river. Because it is an intermediate storage reservoir, its water levels are kept relatively constant while the Quabbin Reservoir fluctuates based on precipitation and demand. At times when the Wachusett Reservoir becomes high due to its own watershed producing a large amount of runoff such as during snow melting, the flow from the Quabbin is shut off and water from the
Ware River
The Ware River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in central Massachusetts. It has two forks, its West Branch, which begins in Hubbardston, Massac ...
flows backwards down the Quabbin Aqueduct into the Quabbin Reservoir for storage.
History
In 1897, the Nashua River above the town of
Clinton was impounded by the
Wachusett Dam
The Wachusett Dam in Clinton, 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 wa ...
;
[ were flooded in the towns of ]Boylston Boylston may refer to the following communities:
;Canada
* Boylston, Nova Scotia
;United States
* Boylston, Massachusetts
* Boylston, New York
* Boylston, Wisconsin
* Boylston Junction, Wisconsin
It may also refer to:
* Helen Dore Boylston, au ...
, West Boylston, Clinton, and Sterling. Work was completed in 1905 and the reservoir first filled in . Its water was originally delivered to the Sudbury Reservoir
The Sudbury Reservoir (2.02 square miles) is an emergency backup Boston metropolitan water reservoir in Massachusetts, located predominantly in Southborough and Marlborough, with small sections in Westborough and Framingham. It was created when t ...
via the 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 ...
, with the Cosgrove Tunnel
The Cosgrove Aqueduct, also called the Cosgrove Tunnel, forms part of the water supply system for the communities of the Greater Boston area in eastern Massachusetts that are served by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. It is a man-made t ...
(completed in 1965) providing redundancy. Interconnections at the Sudbury Reservoir eventually delivered the water to the Weston Reservoir
The Weston Reservoir is part of the greater Boston water supply maintained by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. It is located in central Weston, with its principal public access point on Ash Street.
Until the 1960s, the Weston Reservo ...
via the Weston Aqueduct
The Weston Aqueduct is an aqueduct operated by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). Now part of the MWRA backup systems, it was designed to deliver water from the Sudbury Reservoir in Framingham to the Weston Reservoir in Weston. ...
; these downstream facilities were relegated to backup roles in the late 20th and early 21st century by the construction of the MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel and covered storage facilities.
West Boylston's prominent landmark—the Old Stone Church—was left remaining as a reminder of those who lost their homes and jobs to the building of the reservoir. It is one of the most photographed sites in the area.
When it was built, the Wachusett Reservoir was the largest public water supply reservoir in the world and the largest body of water in Massachusetts. It has since been surpassed by 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 ...
(see that article for a history of reservoir building in Massachusetts).
Recreation and fishing
Because the reservoir is the water supply for Boston, not all areas around it are open to the public. Regulations designed to ensure pure water include the prohibition of boats, ice fishing, wading, swimming, overnight camping, alcoholic beverages, littering, animals, bikes, and motor vehicles from the reservoir and abutting property.[ These regulations are controversial to recreation and fishing proponents, who argue the rules are not needed to protect water quality. A network of fire roads provides easy access for hikers and cross-country skiers.
In 1999, the reservoir contained twelve native and twelve introduced species of ]fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
. The limited access, combined with abundant, high-quality habitat, produced state records for brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
, land-locked salmon
The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...
, smallmouth bass, and white perch
The white perch (''Morone americana'') is not a true perch but is a fish of the temperate bass family, Moronidae, notable as a food and game fish in eastern North America. In some places it is referred to as "Silver Bass".
The name "White perc ...
. The Wachusett Reservoir is one of only two locations in Massachusetts to support lake trout
The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...
, a North American native trout species which has been known to reach 20 plus pounds in Reservoir. In addition stocked rainbow trout are known to "holdover" (live through multiple summers) in Wachusett. Rainbow smelt are also present although their numbers are greatly reduced when compared to many years ago. Lake trout are a major draw to fishermen and women.
Approximately 80% of the shoreline is usually open to angling from April 1 through November 30, depending on ice conditions.
Image gallery
File:Metropolitan Water District map (Boston, MA, 1910).jpg, Metropolitan Water District map, 1910
Image:WachusettReservoirOldStone.jpg, Old Stone Church on the reservoir, viewed from the Stillwater River
Image:Wachusett Reservoir Sign.jpg
Image:Wachusett Reservoir.jpg, Wachusett Reservoir at sunrise
Image:Wachusett Res 2005.jpg, Reservoir from Route 70
File:Wachusetts Reservoir P1140198.jpg
File:Wachusetts Reservoir P1140206.jpg
References
Further reading
* McCarthy Earls, Eamon. ''Wachusett: How Boston's 19th Century Quest for Water Changed Four Towns and a Way of Life.'' Franklin, Massachusetts: Via Appia Press (www.viaappiapress.com), 2010.
External links
Wachusett Reservoir
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
Historic Photos
MIT Institute Archives & Special Collections
Massachusetts Metropolitan Water Works Photograph Collection, 1876–1930
documents the construction of the Boston metropolitan water supply as it expanded westward between 1876 and 1925.
Mass Central Rail Trail
rails-to-trails conversion on the Central Mass line, which was rerouted during dam construction
DCR map and information
{{authority control
Reservoirs in Massachusetts
Lakes of Worcester County, Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Worcester County, Massachusetts
Protected areas of Worcester County, Massachusetts
1908 establishments in Massachusetts