In the late 1800’s the population of Boston was exploding. The city’s water supply was so polluted it was actually causing typhoid epidemics. And, as officials discovered when they tried to contain a series o fires that raged across the city, there just wasn’t enough of it. This need for water triggered a series of events which led to the organization of the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) in 1919, and to the development of the largest artificial domestic water supply system in the world at the time. Quabbin Reservoir and its 56,000 acres of protected watershed, managed by the MDC’s Division of Watershed Management, are the backbone of this system.
From River to Reservoir
To X.H. Goodnough, an engineer in search of a likely spot for a reservoir, the Swift River Valley must have seemed like a godsend — it was bowl-shaped with two small gaps at the southern end; by filling in these gaps with two small dams, the Swift River could be backed up into the valley behind, creating a supply of billions of gallons of water.
When construction began in 1927, the Swift River was redirected from its riverbed and through a diversion tunnel. On August 14th, 1939 that tunnel was sealed with rock. Over the next seven years the waters of the Quabbin Reservoir slowly rose behind the newly completed Winsor Dam, an earth-filled structure 2,640 feet long, rising 170 feet above the riverbed, and the slightly smaller Goodnough (GOOD-no) Dike. The water seeped into the old cellar holes, and gradually submerged the roads that had linked the towns. It swallowed all but the peaks of the sixty hills and mountains, transforming Prescott Ridge into Prescott Peninsula.
Today the reservoir can hold over 412 billion gallons of water; twenty million gallons must be released below the dam each day to maintain the flow of the Swift River. The water is distributed throughout the metropolitan Boston area through 117 miles of pipeline and aqueduct tunneled through bedrock 200 feet below the earth’s surface. Three Western Massachusetts communities are also supplied with Quabbin water through the Chicopee Valley Aqueduct. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), created in 1984, is responsible for the treatment and distribution of the water, and the development of new water supplies. Rangers, foresters, a wildlife biologist, a staff of engineers, skilled craftsmen and laborers all help to ensure the purity of Quabbin’s water and watershed, and maintain and protect Quabbin’s very special qualities.
Quabbin Park
Quabbin Park, located off Route 9 in Belchertown, is a popular attraction for local residents and tourists. Although a small corner of the vast Quabbin Reservation, it is a composite of the unique natural and cultural features of the area. Visitors to Quabbin Park may enjoy a family picnic, hike along the reservoir’s shoreline, fly-fish in the catch and release area below the dam, or follow a woodland trail. Scenic overlooks and the observation tower are windows onto the reservoir, offering spectacular views of the surrounding landscape. Winsor Dam, Goodnough Dike, the reservoir outlet, Quabbin Park Cemetery and the Visitor Center are all located within Quabbin Park, and are accessible by car.
The Visitor Center offers programs and information about the cultural history of the area, the management of the reservoir, watershed and wildlife. Quabbin Park is open every day of the year, from dawn until dusk.
Every visit to Quabbin Park is special. Visitors may glimpse deer, follow the flight of a soaring eagle, or enjoy the serenity of a summer sunset. People return to the park time and again, intrigued by its history, lured by its beauty.
The need to assure the availability of pure water for future generations determines which management and recreational activities are allowed. The MDC recognizes the lands acquired to protect the integrity of its water resources also provide excellent, often unsurpassed, areas where people can find unspoiled nature together with the space and quiet that nurture the human mind and spirit.