MIT OpenCourseWare http ocw mit edu 11 479J 1 851J Water and Sanitation Infrastructure in Developing Countries Spring 2007 For information about citing these materials or our Terms of Use visit http ocw mit edu terms Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Supply and Demand Management of Greater Boston s Water System 1600s the present Joshua Das Project Manager Public Health MWRA April 3 2007 1 Massachusetts Water Resources Authority MWRA MWRA created in 1984 Currently serves 2 5 million people in 61 communities 2 Metro Boston Water Supply History In Brief A Journey Westward Begin in Boston then Move West Seeking Larger Quantities of Purer Water at a Higher Elevation 3 Water System History A Journey Westward Early Boston 4 Early Boston Water System Early Bostonians relied on local wells rain barrels and a spring on Boston Common for their water In 1795 wooden pipes made from tree trunks delivered water from Jamaica Pond to Boston By the 1840s Jamaica Pond was too small and too polluted to provide water to Boston s 50 000 residents A purer and larger source had to be found 5 Water System History A Journey Westward Early Boston Cochituate 6 The Cochituate System After 20 years of study the Cochituate System was chosen and construction began in 1845 The Sudbury River was impounded and Lake Cochituate was formed 14 5 miles from Boston It provided 2 billion gallons of storage and 10 million gallons per day Water flowed into the Frog Pond on Boston Common in 1848 at a dedication ceremony that drew 100 000 7 The Mystic Lakes System By 1870 Boston s population soared to 200 000 In 1870 the Mystic Lakes System in Winchester Medford and Arlington was added to the Boston System But engineers soon looked west for a larger source Mystic Reservoir at Tufts College 8 Water System History A Journey Westward Early Boston Cochituate Sudbury 9 The Sudbury System In 1878 the Sudbury River 18 miles from Boston was diverted through the Sudbury Aqueduct to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir By 1898 the Fayville Dam and the Sudbury Reservoir were completed 10 Soon A Regional Solution Was Needed Boston continued to grow rapidly in the 1880s and 1890s And planners had not foreseen the advent of indoor plumbing In 1895 the Metropolitan Water District was formed to serve 11 cities and towns with a population of 750 000 and a water demand of 70 million gallons per day New water sources were considered the Nashua River the Merrimack River Lake Winnipesaukee and Sebago Lake 11 Water System History A Journey Westward Early Boston Wachusett Cochituate Sudbury 12 The Wachusett Reservoir Chief Engineer Frederick Stearns planned a water source that would be gravity operated and not require filtration In 1897 the site was chosen the Nashua River was impounded by the Wachusett Dam 38 miles from Boston 6 5 square miles were flooded in the towns of Boylston West Boylston Clinton and Sterling 13 The Wachusett Reservoir At the time it was constructed the Wachusett Reservoir was the largest man made water supply reservoir in the world Its 65 billion gallons supplied 118 million gallons per day Work was completed in 1905 and the reservoir filled in May 1908 14 But Even In 1895 Engineers Set Their Sites Further West 15 And Planning Was Soon Underway In 1919 the Metropolitan District Commission was created consolidating responsibility for water sewage and parks The MDC and the Department of Public Health were appointed to a Joint Board by the legislature to study water supply needs The Joint Board made projections to1970 and determined current water supply would be inadequate by 1930 In 1922 the Joint Board recommended the addition of the Ware River and the Quabbin Reservoir to the MDC water supply system The Quabbin Reservoir 60 miles from Boston could be gravity operated and not require filtration 16 Water System History A Journey Westward Early Boston Wachusett Quabbin Cochituate Sudbury 17 The Quabbin Reservoir Construction of the Wachusett Colebrook Tunnel now the Quabbin Tunnel began in 1926 carrying flow from the Ware River to the Wachusett Reservoir In the 1930s the Tunnel was extended to the Swift River This two way tunnel carries flows east and west In 1936 construction of the reservoir began Construction of the Quabbin required the impoundment of the Swift River and the takings of four towns Moving a house from Greenwich 18 The Quabbin Reservoir The reservoir was filled with water from the Swift River and the Ware River Filling began in 1939 and was completed in 1946 At the time the 412 billion gallon reservoir was the largest man made reservoir in the world Road still visible beneath surface of water 19 Current Reservoir Capacity Quabbin Reservoir Storage 412 billion gallons Depth 150 feet Length 17 9 miles Width 3 miles Wachusett Reservoir Storage 65 billion gallons Depth 129 feet Length 8 5 miles Width 1 mile 20 Cumulative Water Supply Capacity Billion Gallons 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 1848 ke La C 1870 e at u t hi oc M t ic ys s ke a L y ur b d Su 1872 m te s Sy h ac W R tt e us 1908 r oi v er es i bb a u Q n 1946 R ir vo r e es 21 Population Growth Water Usage Kept Growing 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 2 5 2 0 1 5 1 0 0 5 Population 1980 1960 1940 1920 1900 1880 1860 0 0 1840 Population mil 3 0 Demand mgd MWRA System Water Demand vs Population MGD 22 Demand Exceeded Safe Yield 350 MGD 300 250 200 150 100 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 Demand Safe Yield Figure by MIT OCW 1987 23 Northeast Drought Just 20 years after Quabbin was completed the drought of the 1960s led some to believe that the source might not be sufficient to serve water needs in the decades to come Capacity of the Quabbin Reservoir reached a historic low of 44 in May 1967 Jan 73 Jan 68 Jan 63 Jan 58 Jan 53 Jan 48 100 80 60 40 20 0 24 Studies For Northfield Mountain Project The Northfield Project was a proposal for skimming Connecticut River spring flood flows and diverting them into the Quabbin Reservoir using a pumped storage facility The measure was authorized by the legislature in both 1967 and 1970 The storage was built into the Northfield Mountain power reservoir 25 Water Management Era Begins Earth Day and the rise of the environmental movement Citizen awareness and participation increased Founded as the Northfield Citizens Advisory Committee in 1977 the Water Supply Citizens Advisory Committee continues today MEPA established to open up decision making Coalition forms against Connecticut River diversion and exploits Western