Wachusett Aqueduct

Wachusett Aqueduct

Wachusett Aqueduct Wachusett Aqueduct at Northborough spanning over the Assabet River
Official name	Wachusett Aqueduct
Begins	Wachusett Reservoir
Ends	Marlborough, Massachusetts
Coordinates
Maintained by	MWRA
Length	9 mi (14.5 km)
Conduit height	11 ft (3.4 m)
Conduit width	12 ft (3.7 m)
Capacity	400 cu ft/s (11.33 m3/s)
Construction began	1897
Opening date	1905
Wachusett Aqueduct Linear District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Built	1896
Architect	Stearns, Frederick P.; et al.
Architectural style	No Style Listed
MPS	Water Supply System of Metropolitan Boston MPS
NRHP Reference #	89002276
Added to NRHP	January 18, 1990

The Wachusett Aqueduct 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 communities of Greater Boston that are served by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), which manages the aqueduct.

Physical characteristics

The Wachusett Aqueduct extends from the Wachusett Reservoir in Clinton, through Berlin and Northborough, to the John J. Carroll Water Treatment Plant at Walnut Hill in Marlborough, Massachusetts. This 9-mile (14 km) long water system consists of 2 miles (3 km) of hard rock tunnel and 7 miles (11 km) of 11-foot (3.4 m) high horseshoe-shaped underground aqueduct constructed of non-reinforced concrete with a brick-lined invert. It is not constructed entirely underground and there are several elevated sections. The final portion of the aqueduct, taken out of service in 2005 with the opening of the treatment plant, is an open channel running from near the treatment facility to Sudbury Reservoir.

Modern use

Until the 1960s, the Wachusett Aqueduct was the main conduit used to deliver water from the Wachusett Reservoir. At that time, it carried 300 million US gallons (1,100,000 m³) of water each day (13 m³/s). The Cosgrove Tunnel replaced it in 1965 as the primary water transmission aqueduct. Because of the construction of the Walnut Hill Water Treatment Plant in Marlborough, the Cosgrove Tunnel was shut down in 2003 in order to make the large piping connection between the new treatment plant and the MWRA's new MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel. The MetroWest Tunnel extends east 18.6 miles (29.9 km) from Walnut Hill to Weston. During that shutdown, the Wachusett Aqueduct was the primary method of transmission of about 240 million US gallons (910,000 m³) of water per day. The section of the Wachusett Aqueduct between the Wachusett Reservoir and the treatment plant remains a secondary normal tranmission pathway in the event the Cosgrove Tunnel is unavailable, while the open channel between the treatment plant and the Sudbury Reservoir remains an emergency backup transmission path in the event of a major problem with the treatment plant or the primary transmission pathways between the treatment plant and the water system.

The aqueduct's route and supporting structures were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

• 

  Wachusett Aqueduct in context

• SouthboroughMA WachusettAqueductLowerDam.jpg

  The lower dam across the open portion of the aqueduct in Southborough

• SouthboroughMA WachusettAqueductChestnutHillArch.jpg

  A bridge (now only carrying foot traffic) over the open portion of the aqueduct

References

• Metropolitan Boston water system history
• Aqueduct over-crossing on State Route 20
• Legal brief by the United States Army Corp of Engineers
• March 19, 2001 start of Wachusett Aqueduct rehabilitation
• EPA permit to discharge effluent while repairing the Wachusett Aqueduct
• Court order and statement of facts about MWRA facilities