Fresh Pond (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

Infobox lake
lake_name = Fresh Pond
image_lake =
caption_lake =
image_bathymetry = Fresh Pond landscape plan by Olmsted.jpg
caption_bathymetry = General plan for Fresh Pond Park, by the Olmsted Brothers landscape design firm (1897). Proposed but not adopted.
location = Cambridge, Massachusetts
coords = coord|42|23|N|71|9|W|type:waterbody_region:US-MS|display=inline,title
type = reservoir
inflow =
outflow =
catchment =
basin_countries = United States
length =
width =
area = 155 acre (627,000 m²)
depth =
max-depth =
volume =
residence_time =
shore =
elevation =
islands =
cities =

Fresh Pond is a reservoir and park in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at coord|42|23|N|71|9|W|type:landmark. Prior to the Pond's use exclusively as a reservoir, its ice had been harvested by Boston's "Ice King", Frederic Tudor, and others, for shipment to North American cities and to tropical areas around the world.

Fresh Pond Reservation consists of a 155 acre (627,000 m²) kettle hole lake, and 162 acres (656,000 m²) of surrounding land, with a 2.25 mile (3.6 km) perimeter road popular with walkers, runners and cyclists, and a 9 hole golf course. [ [http://www.freshpondgolf.com Fresh Pond Golf Course] Accessed 2008-10-02] On the northern outskirts of the Fresh Pond Reservation lies a nursing home called the Neville Center (formerly Neville Manor). [ [http://www.nevillecenter.org/ Neville Center at Fresh Pond] Accessed 2008-10-02]

In the mid 1800s, the Pond was privately owned and home to a flourishing ice-harvesting industry, with ice shipped as far as Europe, China, and India. In 1856, a private company began supplying its customers with drinking water from the Pond. In 1865 the business came under city ownership. By the end of the century the Pond and the land surrounding it was entirely city-owned, and an elaborate public water supply system had been developed.

Fresh Pond is part of the overall Cambridge water system. Its water is fed to the pond via an aqueduct from the Hobbs Brook and Stony Brook Reservoirs, located in Lexington, Lincoln, Waltham and Weston, Massachusetts. [ [http://www.cambridgema.gov/CityOfCambridge_content/documents/cwd%20map.pdf Map of Cambridge drinking water source area] Accessed 2008-10-02] After purification at the Walter J. Sullivan Water Treatment Facility adjacent to Fresh Pond, the water is pumped upwards to the underground Payson Park Reservoir in Belmont. From there it flows back to Cambridge, with gravity providing the pressure to distribute drinking water to residents and businesses. [ [http://www.cambridgema.gov/CWD/fpfaqs.cfm Cambridge Water Department Fresh Pond FAQ] Accessed 2008-10-02]

Fresh Pond Reservation can be reached via the Minuteman Bikeway or MBTA 72, 74, 75, and 78 buses. It is a 15 minute walk from Alewife Station on the MBTA Red line.

References

External links

* [http://www.cambridgema.gov/CWD/ City of Cambridge Water Department]
* [http://www.cambridgema.gov/CWD/wat_fp_geninfo.cfm Fresh Pond reservation history]