AArchivalrchival SSurvivalurvival DCR/MWRA Historic Record Now Available Online Sean Fisher, DCR Archivist with Joel Zimmerman, DCR Regional Planner Sylvio Casparis, presi- dent of one of the several construction companies hired to build the Wachusett Aqueduct, poses on horse- back in 1897 at the mouth of the newly completed water conduit. This is just one of thousands of high-resolution historic images now avail- able online depicting the life and times surrounding the building of the Wachu- sett Reservoir as well as construction and operation of other Boston area water supply infrastructure. More images are shown in the pages of this expanded edi- tion of Downstream. eellll pphoneshones aarere eeverywhereverywhere ttoday,oday, bbutut oonene hhundredundred aandnd ttwentywenty yyearsears aagogo tthehe ffolksolks bbuildinguilding BBoston’soston’s ddrinkingrinking Cwwaterater ssystemystem ccouldould nnotot ttakeake a sselelfi e oorr a qquickuick vvideoideo ttoo ddocumentocument ttheirheir wwork.ork. TThehe MMetropolitanetropolitan WWaterater WWorksorks ((MWW)MWW) – ppredecessorredecessor ttoo tthehe DDepartmentepartment ooff CConservationonservation aandnd RRecre-ecre- aationtion ((DCR)DCR) aandnd tthehe MMassachusettsassachusetts WWaterater RResourcesesources AAuthor-uthor- iityty ((MWRA)MWRA) ((seesee ppageage 22)) – rreliedelied oonn tthathat eera’sra’s sstatetate ooff tthehe aartrt ttechnology,echnology, ddryry pplatelate gglasslass nnegativeegative ccameras,ameras, ttoo ttakeake mmoreore tthanhan 66,000,000 pphotographshotographs ffromrom 11895895 ttoo 11906.906. 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AAnn aadditionaldditional 22,000,000 iimagesmages yyouou wwillill wwantant ttoo ggoo oon-linen-line aandnd eexplorexplore wwereere ccapturedaptured bbetweenetween 11907907 aandnd tthehe wwealthealth ooff iinformationnformation nnowow aavailablevailable 11926926 sshowcasinghowcasing bbothoth bbuildingsuildings aatt tthehe cclicklick ooff a mmouseouse oorr tthehe sswipewipe ooff a aandnd ooperations.perations. TThehe 66.5”.5” x 88.5”.5” fi nngertip.gertip. ffragileragile nnegativesegatives aarere ssimilarimilar ttoo aanothernother ttechnologyechnology tthathat hhasas bbeeneen Early Storage ssupplantedupplanted bbyy tthehe ddigitaligital aage:ge: vvinylinyl NNearlyearly tthehe eentirentire ccollectionollection ooff aapproxi-pproxi- NUMBER 33 rrecords.ecords. LLikeike LLPs,Ps, tthehe nnegativesegatives mmatelyately 88,000,000 gglasslass pplatelate nnegativesegatives ((num-num- Spring 2015 aarere bbulkyulky aandnd ddififfi ccultult ttoo sstore,tore, bbutut bberedered ssequentiallyequentially ffromrom 1 tthroughhrough 77672,672, aarere a ssuperioruperior pproductroduct fforor ccaptur-aptur- ppluslus uunnumberednnumbered aandnd rrejectedejected nnegatives)egatives) Massachusetts Department iingng ddetailedetailed iinformationnformation ((atat lleasteast ttoo hhadad bbeeneen mmovedoved ttoo ttwowo CChestnuthestnut HHillill of Conservation and Recreation mmanyany aaudiophiles).udiophiles). PPumpingumping SStationstations iinn BBrightonrighton bbyy tthehe Division of Water Supply Protection DDCRCR hhasas ccollaboratedollaborated wwithith 11920s.920s. WWhilehile nnotot aann ooptimalptimal sstoragetorage www.mass.gov/dcr/watersupply.htm sseveraleveral ppartnersartners ttoo bbothoth ssafeguardafeguard Continued on Page 4 2 DDownstreamownstream • SpringSpring 20152015 DCR and MWRA - Clean water partners By Joel Zimmerman, DCR Regional Planner Editors note: This article is reprinted from the Winter 2015 issues of ‘Watershed Currents’, the DCR/DWSP newsletter for Watershed Preservation Restriction (WPR) holders. ver the past 175 years, there have been a dozen different Metropolitan Water Works System Agency Names Onames of government organi- 1846 - Present zations responsible for the Boston area Agency Name Years drinking water supply. Today, the Of- Boston Water Commissioners 1846-1850 fi ce of Watershed Management within Cochituate Water Board 1850-1875 DCR’s Division of Water Supply Pro- Water Commissioners of the City of Charlestown tection (DWSP) and the Massachusetts Water Works 1862-1865 Water Resources Authority (MWRA) Mystic Water Board 1865-1875 manage this vast resource. Why two Boston Water Board 1875-1895 agencies? Metropolitan Water Board 1895-1901 The MWRA’s 1985 enabling Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board 1901-1919 legislation mandated the new indepen- Metropolitan District Commission (MDC), Water Division 1919-1985 dent authority to fi nance and repair Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission 1926-1947 the Boston region’s water and sewer for construction of the Quabbin Reservoir infrastructure, and act as the wholesale Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) 1985-Present for supply aqueducts and distribution system (from the MDC Water Division) distributor of these utilities to the local MDC Division of Watershed Management 1985-2003 for the Quabbin Reservoir, Ware River, Wachusett Reservoir, and Sudbury Reservoir watersheds In This Issue: Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Water Supply Protection 2003-Present Archival Survival 1 There has been a succession of agency names that have managed the construction Preserving century old pictures and plans and management of the greater Boston drinking water supply. Across the generations, no matter the name, there has been a commitment to providing ample clean water to DCR and MWRA 2 the citizens of the Commonwealth. Photograph of Sudbury Reservoir, 1898. Inter-agency cooperation cities and towns. While MWRA got joint responsibility. The inter-agency Snow Survey 3 all the pipes and treatment facilities, relationship, of course, is much more How historic was the winter of 2015? the legislature maintained state control complicated. In reality, DWSP and Kids Corner 11 of the land and reservoirs, creating MWRA work closely together to A word jumble a Division of Watershed Manage- provide 2.5 million people some of the Then and Now 12 ment within the Metropolitan District best drinking water in the world. MA Envirothon at Quabbin Commission (MDC), DCR’s predeces- The functions of each agency are sor agency (MDC and the Depart- spelled out in a Memorandum of Photo/Image Credits All pictures, unless noted otherwise, are from ment of Environmental Management Understanding. Most importantly, the Metropolitan Water Works Photograph Col- lection, available through Digital Commonwealth were merged in 2003 to become MWRA – and its ratepayers – en- (www.digitalcommonwealth.org). DCR). DWSP is required to provide tirely fund DWSP’s operating budget Page 3 DCR “a suffi cient supply of pure water to through the Water Supply Protection Page 10 Sean Fisher Page 12 Top: DCR the [MWRA], and shall utilize and Trust. This fi nancing also includes Bottom: Diane Petit, NRCS conserve said water and other natural land acquisition and Payments in Lieu resources in order to protect, preserve of Taxes (PILOT). The DCR/MWRA and enhance the environment of the watershed system is a partnership commonwealth and to assure the avail- that makes both short- and long-term ability of pure water for future genera- investments from the system’s users in tions.” the permanent protection and manage- In simple terms, DWSP handles ment of the source water supply. watershed management, while MWRA The cooperation between the two takes over when the water enters the agencies, and their ability to maintain Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs’ a successful watershed management MWW Truck #3, 1920 intakes. Reservoir management is a Continued on Page 10 DDownstreamownstream • SpringSpring 20152015 3 The Water Supply Natural Record The Wachusett Snow Survey Program By Steve Sulprizio, DCR Environmental Analyst Remember last winter? While measuring snow depth may not seem all that complicated, at right is a photograph of a training session that was conducted for snow depth and water content analysis outside the Wachusett Field Headquarters last winter in order to ensure consistent and accurate results from the staff involved in the survey. Below is a chart that shows the rate of snow pack build up and decline for the past 5 years, from 2010-2015 tube. A snow core is forecasting. The data is also benefi cial pulled out and is weighed to engineers who can use the snow to determine the snow weight to estimate stress on roofs from water equivalent. the snow. The scale is calibrated The winter of 2014-2015 proved to to translate the weight be particularly harsh, especially from of the snow to a water late January through the month of Feb- equivalent in inches. A ruary. Record cold and snow battered nvironmental Quality staff rough estimation is that a quarter of a the area for about six weeks. Worces- at the Wachusett Reservoir pound of snow