Wachusett Reservoir Dam
Posted by: 
NorStar
N 42° 24.142 W 071° 41.205
19T E 278889 N 4697949
The Wachusett Dam holds back water that will be used for Boston's drinking water supply, and, at the time of completion, it was the largest gravity dam in the world and created the largest reservoir for drinking water in the world.
Waymark Code: WM52VQ
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 11/02/2008
Views: 22
If you drive along Route 62 toward Clinton, from Berlin, on your left, you will have a beautiful view of the Wachusett Reservoir. As you come into town, you will glimpse the dam that holds back the water of this reservoir. It is a beautiful, sloped, stone dam with a power house and gate house at its base. Access to the dam is difficult at the moment. Little parking is available. One place is the courthouse on Rte 62. Another is a small area off Grove Street. On Route 62, you can get near the dam, but construction is occuring (October 2008) that prevents entry onto the dam. There are other trails from Grove Street where you may glimpse the reservoir, but access to the foot of the dam is restricted.
The Wachusett Dam and Acqueduct was the third project for the Boston Water Works. When it was built, completed in 1905, the dam was the largest gravity dam in the world, and the reservoir was the largest for public drinking water in the world. The dam spans the Nashua River, and provides clean water to Boston. The original Wachusett aqueduct sent water to Boston, all done using gravity. Before the reservoir was filled, factories, churches and other buildings had to be removed, and over a thousand bodies had to be moved. A railroad was rerouted, as well.
The reservoir still feeds the main acqueduct to Boston - now a modern system built in the 1990s. Much of the water, however, comes from the larger and newer Quabbin Reservior in Ware, MA.
Some specs:
Dam Length: 965 ft.
Dam Height: 205 ft.
Reservoir size: 4,135 acres
Reservoir Maximum depth: 143 ft.
Sources:
Wachusett Reservoir - Wikipedia
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visit link)
Wachusett Dam - Wikipedia
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visit link)
Wachusett Dam History - MWRA.
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visit link)
Wachusett Reservoir - Mass. Dept. Cons. and Rec.
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visit link)