Ware River Diversion
Encyclopedia
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
on the Ware River
Ware River
The Ware River is a river in central Massachusetts. It has two forks, the longest of which begins near Hubbardston, Massachusetts...
. It is part of the Boston, Massachusetts public water supply system, maintained by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is a public authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that provides wholesale drinking water and sewage services to certain municipalities and industrial users in the state, primarily in the Boston area.The authority receives water from the Quabbin...
(MWRA).
Information
Water flows from the Quabbin ReservoirQuabbin Reservoir
The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and was built between 1930 and 1939. Today along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, some to the east, as well as 40 other communities in Greater Boston...
to the Wachusett Reservoir
Wachusett Reservoir
The Wachusett Reservoir is the second largest body of water in the state of Massachusetts. It is located in central Massachusetts, northeast of Worcester. It is part of the water supply system for metropolitan Boston maintained by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority . It has an aggregate...
using natural siphon action, through a tunnel called the Quabbin Aqueduct
Quabbin Aqueduct
The Quabbin Aqueduct carries water from the Quabbin Reservoir to the Wachusett Reservoir. It is part of the Eastern Massachusetts public water supply system, maintained by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority...
. This aqueduct is one of the longest in the world. The high point for the tunnel route is at the Ware River
Ware River
The Ware River is a river in central Massachusetts. It has two forks, the longest of which begins near Hubbardston, Massachusetts...
in South Barre, Massachusetts
Barre, Massachusetts
Barre is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,398 at the 2010 census.-History:Originally called the Northwest District of Rutland, it was first settled in 1720. The town was incorporated on June 17, 1774, as Hutchinson after Thomas Hutchinson, colonial...
, near State Route 122
Route 122 (Massachusetts)
Route 122 is a southeast-northwest state highway in Massachusetts that is a continuation of RI Route 122. The highway is signed as south–north.-Route description:...
and Coldbrook Road.
At this point, a facility called the Ware River Diversion exists to control the Quabbin Aqueduct
Quabbin Aqueduct
The Quabbin Aqueduct carries water from the Quabbin Reservoir to the Wachusett Reservoir. It is part of the Eastern Massachusetts public water supply system, maintained by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority...
. This facility, consisting of a dam and hydraulic control systems, diverts the water from the Ware River
Ware River
The Ware River is a river in central Massachusetts. It has two forks, the longest of which begins near Hubbardston, Massachusetts...
into the aqueduct to either start a natural siphon
Siphon
The word siphon is sometimes used to refer to a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. But in the English language today, the word siphon usually refers to a tube in an inverted U shape which causes a liquid to flow uphill, above the surface of the reservoir,...
or to store excess Ware River water in the Quabbin Reservoir
Quabbin Reservoir
The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and was built between 1930 and 1939. Today along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, some to the east, as well as 40 other communities in Greater Boston...
. The Ware River Diversion is part of the Chicopee River Watershed.
On June 15, 1987 the Ware River Intake, which is where the water goes into the diversion, was re-dedicated and named the Roger H. Lonergan Intake.
How it works
If the aqueduct route from the Ware River Diversion to the Wachusett ReservoirWachusett Reservoir
The Wachusett Reservoir is the second largest body of water in the state of Massachusetts. It is located in central Massachusetts, northeast of Worcester. It is part of the water supply system for metropolitan Boston maintained by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority . It has an aggregate...
is closed (the Wachusett-Coldbrook branch) and water diversion occurs, water flows from the Ware River, back down grade to the Quabbin Reservoir
Quabbin Reservoir
The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and was built between 1930 and 1939. Today along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, some to the east, as well as 40 other communities in Greater Boston...
for storage.
If the aqueduct route from the Ware River Diversion to the Wachusett Reservoir
Wachusett Reservoir
The Wachusett Reservoir is the second largest body of water in the state of Massachusetts. It is located in central Massachusetts, northeast of Worcester. It is part of the water supply system for metropolitan Boston maintained by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority . It has an aggregate...
is open, diversion of water from the Ware River
Ware River
The Ware River is a river in central Massachusetts. It has two forks, the longest of which begins near Hubbardston, Massachusetts...
water into both the Wachusett and the Quabbin Reservoir routes will start the siphon
Siphon
The word siphon is sometimes used to refer to a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. But in the English language today, the word siphon usually refers to a tube in an inverted U shape which causes a liquid to flow uphill, above the surface of the reservoir,...
. Once the siphon
Siphon
The word siphon is sometimes used to refer to a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. But in the English language today, the word siphon usually refers to a tube in an inverted U shape which causes a liquid to flow uphill, above the surface of the reservoir,...
starts, water from the Ware River Diversion stops and the water flows from the Quabbin to the Wachusett Reservoirs continue naturally.