WATER


1897 - Wachusett Reservoir

   
WACHUSETT DAM  WORK CREW
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The Boston metropolitan area continued to grow rapidly through the 1890s. Indoor plumbing became commonplace. Planners had not foreseen this development and supply had become inadequate.

At this time, the following water sources were considered: the Nashua River, Lake Winnipesaukee, Sebago Lake, and the Merrimac River. Under the leadership of Frederic Stearns, Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Water Board, it was decided that the new water source should be gravity-operated and not require filtration.

In 1897, the Nashua River above the town of Clinton was impounded by the Wachusett Dam. Six and 1/2 square miles were flooded in the towns of Boylston, West Boylston, Clinton and Sterling. and its water conveyed by the Wachusett/Weston Aqueduct to Weston Reservoir and then by pipeline to the Chestnut Hill and Spot Pond Reservoirs. Work was completed in 1905 and the reservoir first filled in May 1908.

The Wachusett system was built to service the 29 municipalities within the 10 mile radius of the State House. At the time, the Wachusett Reservoir was the largest public water supply reservoir in the world.

Water from the Wachusett Aqueduct could be released into the reservoirs of the Sudbury River system for transport to Boston via the Sudbury Aqueduct. Water from the Wachusett Reservoir could also flow through the new Sudbury Reservoir to the Weston Aqueduct.

During this period, Chestnut Hill Resrvoir was the hub of the system.

WACHUSETT SYSTEM SUMMARY

SourceElevation/YieldTransmission
Means
Storage
Destination
Water Mains
Wachusett
Reservoir
395'/118 mgd*
65 billion gallons
Wachusett
Aqueduct
Weston
Reservoir
Weston Aqueduct Supply Mains

WACHUSETT SYSTEM SUMMARY FUTURE PLANS

With rehabilitation of the Low Service system, three Weston Aqueduct Supply Mains (WASM) will be cleaned and lined and their old reduced-size gate valves replaced with line-size butterfly valves. These three mains will have the capacity to deliver 125 mgd from the new Weston Covered Storage Facility to the combined Boston and Northern Low Service areas.


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