Water Massachusetts Water Resources Authority

1 water

1.1 major construction
1.2 conservation era
1.3 2010 supply failure
1.4 system expansion

water

metropolitan water district map, 1910


major construction

local wells, springs (including 1 on boston common), , rain barrels first sources of water boston residents. jamaica pond used water source boston starting in 1795, using wooden pipes (later cast iron). after several epidemics , fires exposed inadequacy of water supply, cochituate system constructed cochituate water board, starting in 1845 , opening in 1848. included dam on sudbury river, creating lake cochituate fed cochituate aqueduct leading brookline reservoir , local storage such beacon hill reservoir. when boston annexed charlestown in 1873, mystic lakes system added boston s water supply. cochituate reservoir , aqueduct abandoned in 1951; none of other reservoirs or lakes in use part of primary or backup water supply.

the boston water board constructed 7 reservoirs in sudbury river watershed 1875 1898. water impounded in these reservoirs delivered chestnut hill reservoir sudbury aqueduct, completed in 1878. there water pumped waban hill reservoir in newton , fisher hill reservoir in brookline. other pumping stations added: 1 @ alewife brook in somerville , @ spot pond in stoneham.

population growth , increasing popularity of indoor plumbing continued put pressure on region s water supply. after considering lake winnipesaukee, sebago lake, , merrimack river, metropolitan water board decided create world record-setting wachusett reservoir damming nashua river in clinton, massachusetts. completed in 1905 , filled in 1908, feeding wachusett aqueduct. water travelled boston area via weston aqueduct , weston reservoir, or via new sudbury reservoir , older sudbury aqueduct.

continued growth in water demand prompted 1926 construction of wachusett-coldbrook tunnel tap seasonal excess water in ware river. tunnel extended swift river become quabbin aqueduct. metropolitan water supply commission began construction of massive quabbin reservoir in 1936, , took 1939 1946 fill reservoir. creation of new reservoir resulted in disincorporation of 4 western massachusetts towns.

the chicopee valley aqueduct completed in 1950.

capacity expanded in 1941 completion of hultman aqueduct (which connected wachusett aqueduct end of weston aqueduct @ norumbega). city tunnel added in 1951, connecting chestnut hill nexus. city tunnel extension (1961) , dorchester tunnel (1978) carried high-pressure water part of way fells , blue hills reservoirs, respectively. dorchester tunnel allowed relegation of sudbury aqueduct , chestnut hill reservoir backup status, improved water quality. redundant cosgrove tunnel finished in 1965, allowing maintenance of wachusett aqueduct.

conservation era

demand water exceeded safe supply of 300 million gallons (1,100,000 m) per day (for precipitation reliably available) starting in 1969. though diverting water yet further westward connecticut river considered several times, in 1986, mwra instead undertook campaign of water conservation. demand reduced sustainable levels 1989, , continued drop around 220 million gallons (830,000 m) per day 2009.

from 1996 2009, mwra constructed sanitary covered storage tanks. these primary local storage; remaining small uncovered reservoirs used backup because water these basins require further treatment. metrowest water supply tunnel finished in 2003, allowing rehabilitation of increasingly leaky hultman aqueduct.

2010 supply failure

the 2010 boston water emergency caused catastrophic failure of collar connecting 2 sections of 10-foot-wide (3.0 m) pipe ruptured in weston, massachusetts, on may 1, disrupting connection between metrowest water supply tunnel , city tunnel. resulted in activation of backup reservoir system first time, , boil-water order entire mwra system affecting approximately 2 million residents of 31 cities , towns. on may 4, test results indicating backup water supply clean enabled lifting of boil water order.

system expansion

given conservation efforts brought demand below mwra-defined safe yield , , desiring amortize on more ratepayers fixed costs of large projects metrowest tunnel , deer island sewage treatment plant, mwra seeking add more wholesale water customers, including municipalities , properties straddling border of service area. @ same time, communities in massachusetts facing shortage of available water due population growth or other factors.

from 2002 2009, following municipalities , other customers have been added system:

stoughton, massachusetts
avalon (private development on danvers-peabody border)
dedham/westwood water district
ymca (private customer on salem-marblehead border)
reading, massachusetts
wilmington, massachusetts




^ cite error: named reference state1 invoked never defined (see page).
^ history, connecticut river watershed council . retrieved 2011-08-28. 
^ mwra water system demand, 1989-2009 . retrieved 2011-08-28. 
^ www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/05/03/mass_says_broken_pipe_could_be_fixed_within_days?mode=pf . archived original on may 7, 2010. 
^ mwra homepage . retrieved 2010-05-02. 
^ [1] archived february 6, 2009, @ wayback machine.
^ http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/04water/2006/062806testimony/phelps.pdf
^ http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/04water/2006/062806testimony/pioneerinstitute.pdf
^ system expansion . retrieved 28 july 2016.