Wachusett Aqueduct

Infobox_Aqueduct
aqueduct_name= Wachusett Aqueduct


caption= Wachusett Aqueduct at Northborough
official_name= Wachusett Aqueduct
starts= Wachusett Reservoir
ends= Weston Reservoir
maint= MWRA
length= 9 mi (14.48 km)
height= 11 ft (3.35 m)
width= 12 ft (3.66 m)
diameter=
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first_diameter=
second_length=
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third_length=
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capacity= 400 ft³/sec (11.32 m³/sec)
began= 1897
open= 1905
coordinates= coord|42|23|57|N|71|41|22|W|region:US_type:landmark
lat=
long=
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The Wachusett Aqueduct carries water from the Wachusett Reservoir to the Weston Reservoir. It is part of the Boston, Massachusetts public water supply system, maintained by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA).

Physical Characteristics

Water from the Wachusett Reservoir flows through the Wachusett Aqueduct to the Weston Reservoir. The Wachusett Aqueduct extends from the Wachusett Reservoir in Clinton, through Berlin to Northborough, Massachusetts. This 9 mile-long (14.48 km) water system consists of 2 miles (3.22 km) of hard rock tunnel and 7 miles (11.26 km) of 11 ft-high (3.35 m) 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 over crossings.

Newness

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 gallons of water each day. The Cosgrove Tunnel replaced it in 1965 at the primary water transmission aqueduct. Because of the construction of the water treatment facility at Walnut Hill, the Cosgrove Tunnel was shut down in 2003 in order to make the large piping connection between the new treatment plant and MWRA’s new MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel. The MetroWest Tunnel extends east 18.6 miles (29.924 km) from Walnut Hill to Weston. During that shutdown, the Wachusett Aqueduct was the primary method of transmission of about 240 million gallons (908 million liters) of water per day. It remains a backup connection to underground storage near the Massachusetts Turnpike in Weston.

References

* [http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/04water/html/hist1.htm Metropolitan Boston water system history]
* [http://massroads.com/nbi_result.php?StateCode=25&FeatureIntersected=WATER+WACHUSETT+AQUEDUCT Aqueduct over-crossing on State Route 20]
* [http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/reg/04-1703JDFormHQ.pdf Legal brief by the United States Army Corp of Engineers]
* [http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/archives/news/2001/031901wachrehabbegins.htm March 19, 2001 start of Wachusetts Aqueduct rehabilitation]
* [http://www.epa.gov/region1/npdes/permits/metrowesttunnelpermit.pdf EPA permit to discharge effluent while repairing the Wachusetts Aqueduct]
* [http://www.shotcrete.org/pdf_files/Sum04%20Town.pdf Some details of the aqueduct’s construction and repair]
* [http://home.manhattan.edu/~walter.matystik/wcb/2/files/boston.htm Court order and statement of facts about MWRA facilities]