· MASSACHUSETTSSTREAM CLASSIFICATIONPROGRAM • I I l/ '--------' \ .. --~\ °'---." , ·\v _..,__' f . I ✓ ·-.., I : r-·~';,.{___... I ., !', "\_ PART i: INVENTORY OF RIVERS AND STREAMS massochusetts deportment of environmantal quality· engineering DIVISION OF WATER POLLUTION CONTROL themas c. memo hon, director mcssachusetts department of fisheries, wi:dlife and recreational vehicles D!VISION OF FISHERIES ANO WILDLIFE richard cronin, director MASSACHUSETTSSTREAM CLASSIFICATION PROGRAM PART I: INVENTORYOF RIVERS ANDSTREAMS By David B. Halliwell Assistant Aquatic Biologist Bureau of Wildlife Research and Management Massachusetts.Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Recreational Vehicles Westborough Warren A. Kimball Principal Sanitary Engineer Arthur J. Screpetis Aquatic Biologist Technical Services Branch Massachusetts Division of Water Pollution Control Department of Environmental Quality Engineering Westborough JULY 1982 ---Cover Selected Types of Drainage Patterns ·· Typified in Massachusetts , PUBLICATION:#13003-138-72-10-82-CR 2nd. Printing Approved by Joh..~ J, Manton, State Purchasing Agent • TABLEOF CONTENTS ITEM FOREWORD V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi • ABSTRACT vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. HIERARCHICALLISTING OF RIVERSAND STREAMS OF MASSACHUSETTS 11 Hudson Drainage Sy~tem' 11 Boosic River Basin 11 Kinderhook and Baahbish River Basins 15 Bousatonic. Drainage System 17 Bousatonic River Basin 17 Connecticut Drainage System 21 Farmington River Basin 21 Westfield River Basin 23 Deerfield River Basin 27 Connecticut River Basin 33 Millers River Basin 39 Chicopee River Basin 41 Thames Drainsge System 45 Quinebaug River Basin 45 French River Basin 47 Narragansett Bay Drainage System 49 Blackstone River Basin 49 Ten Mile River Basin 53 Narragansett Bay (Shore) Drainage Area 55 Mount Hope Bay Drainage System 51 Mount Hope Bay (Shore) Drainage Area 57 Taunton River Basin 59 Boston Barbor Drainage System 63 Mystic River Basin and Coastal Drainage Area 63 Charles River Basin and Coastal Drainage Area 65 Neponset River Basin and Coastal Drainage Area 69 Weymouth and Weir River Basins and Coastal Drainage Area 71 iii TABLEOF CONTENTS(CONTINUED) PAGE II, (Continued) Merrimack Drainage System 73 Nashua River Basin 73 Concord River Basin 77 Shawsheen River Basin 79 • Merrimack River Basin and Coastal Drainage Area 81 Coastal Drainage System. 85 Parker River Basin and Coastal Drainage Area 85 Ipswich River Basin and Coastal Drainage Area 87 North Shore Coastal Drainage Area 89 South Shore Coastal Drainage Area 91 Buzzards Bay Coastal Drainage Area 95 Cape Cod Coastal Drainage Area 97 Islands Coastal Drainage Area 101 III. ALPHABETICALLISTING OF RIVERSAND STREAMS OF MASSACHUSETTS 103 IV. REFERENCES 125 APPENDIXA: NUMERICALINDEX TO MASSACHUSETrSUNITED STATES A-1 GEOLOGICALSURVEY TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS • • iv FOREWORD The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is fortunate to possess thousands of miles of inland and coastal streams. These range from ephemeral mountain rills to meandering tidal rivers, and represent a vast array of lotic..:..or running water--environments, Admittedly, many of the Commonwealth's streams are small by planning standards; however, their number and diversity form a unique resource whose aggregate value is con­ siderable. Regardless of their nature and location, all streams in Massachusetts are exposed to some degree of human influence and all are expected to fulfill some human need. These demands include: ·fishing; boating; sw.imming; water supply for industry, agriculture and munici­ palities; waste assimilation; power-generation; wildlife management; and aesthetics. These uses may occur slone or in combination, and their conflicts serve to further complicate the management of these resources. The Massachusetts Division of Water Pollution Control (MDWPC)and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MDFW)share in the. primary responsibility for regulating and managing the lotic waters of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Clean Waters Act (Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 21) empowers the MDWPCto adopt standards of water quality and to abate pollution in the Commonwealth's waters; furthermore, Chapter 21, together with portions of Chapter 131 of the MGL, authorizes the MDFW to manage fish, birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, as appropriate. The stewardship of this heterogeneous resource requires site-specific practices and policies. As an initial step in this process, these two agencies have cooperated to produce this inventory of Massachusetts' streams. 1 ,1Funding for the work conducted by the MDFWwas supported in.part by funds provided by federal aid projects FW-7-P (Fish and Wildlife Management !>Janning) and F-44-R (Survey and Inventory of Ponds, Lakes, Rivers, and Streams). V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance and support received from many people in the formulation and completion of this report; From the Massachusetts Division of Water Pollution Control: Alan N. Cooperman, whose encouragement, patience, and general overall super­ vision helped promote this final document; Rebecca L. Sherer, for painstakingly preparing the final graphics; Brian F. Friedmann, who developed the computer program that generated.the al,>habetical listing • of rivers and streams; Lennea E. Gregg, for being so patient and gracious in typing innumerable drafts and offering important comments and sugges­ tions relating to final manuscript format. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Carl S. Prescott and Peter H. Oatis of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife for their cooperation. Special thanks are due to colleagues and associates who have assisted in preparing various portions of this report, or have reviewed or offered helpful.,:omments: Thomas W. Bienkiewicz, Richard J. Donahue, Noreen C. Flynn:, Michael H. Frimpter, Rene Gentile, .and S.W. Wandle, Jr: • vi -----........,.......... _,____ .,..,.,_..,....,,. ___,... ................. ------..-·-----.,...._,..,.,...,,.,..,.......,...,,..,_._ ABSTRACT A hierarchical and alphaoetical listing of 2,027 named rivers and streams of Massachusetts was compiled from most currently available United States Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps. The state was hydrologically divided into nine drainage systems comprised of 32 river basins and coastal drainage areas. Unique code numbers were assigned to each named watercourse together With coded USGS'map(s) locations and water-oriented descriptor term(s), where applicable. Each of the 32 river basins and coastal draiDage area hierarchical listings are accompanied by a watershed map depicting individual streams with their code numbers. Other pertinent information, such as adjoining river basin and coastal drainage area divides, municipal and state boundaries, and significant lakes and ponds are also delineated • . vii ,£ LIST OF TABLES NUMBER TITLE PAGE 1 Numerical Coding and Inventory Summary 4 • 2 Glossary of Selected Terms 6 3 Abbreviations Used in Hierarchical Listing 8 4 Abbreviations Used in Alphabetical Listing 9 5 Map Symbols 10 viii LIST OF FIGURES NUMBER l Drainage Systems X 2 River Basins snd Coastal Drainage Areas 2 3 Hoosic River Basin 12 4 Kinderhook snd Bashbish River Basins 14 5 · Housatonic River Basin 16 6 Farmington River Basin 20 7 Westfield River Basin 22 8 Deerfield River Basin 28 9 Connecticut River Basin 32 10 Millers River Basin 38 11 Chicopee River Basin 42 12 Quinebaug River Basin 46 13 French River Basin 48 14 Blackstone River Basin 50 15 Ten Mile River Basin 54 16 Narragansett Bay (Shore) Drainage Area 56 17 Mount Hope. Bay (Shore) Drainage Area 58 18 Taunton River Basin 60 19 Mystic River Basin and Coastal Drainage Area 64 20 Charles River Basin snd Coastal Drainage Area 66 21 Neponset River Basin snd Coastal Drainage Area 68 22 Weymouth and Weir River Basins and Coastal Drainage Area .70 23 Nashua River Basin 72 24 Concord River Basin 76 25 Shawsheen River Basin 80 26 Merrimack River Basin snd Coastal Drainage Area 82 27 Parker River Basin and Coastal Drainage Area 84 28 Ipswich River Basin snd Coastal Drainage Area 86 29 North Shore Coastal Drainage Area 88 30 South Shore Coastal Drainage Area 92 31 Buzzards Bay Coastal Drainage Area .94 32 Cape Cod Coastal Drainage Area 98 33 Islands Coastal Drainage Area (Martha's Vineyard) 100 34 Islands Coastal Drainage Area (Nantucket) 102 ix COMMONWEALTH of MASSACHUSETTS DRAINAGE SYSTEMS FIGURE VT NH 8 ICILOMETERS 25 3 MILES 20 ~ 5 l CT RI I HUDSON 6 MOUNT HOPE BAY 2 HOUSATONIC 7 BOSTON HARBOR 3 CONNECTICUT 8 MERRIMACK 4 THAMES 9 COASTAL 5 NARRAGANSETT BAY dd~ @~d • • In science ••• the recognition of disorder is an opportunity and in fact, is a necessary preliminary for the creative art of ordering. - George Gaylord Silnpson (1961) I. INTRODUCTION Purpose and Scope This river and stream inventory is a cooperative effort between the Massachusetts Divisions of Water Pollution Control and Fisheries and Wildlife. Its purpose is to compile a list of named streams in the Commonwealth for use in stream classification. In other New England States, Connecticut (Thomas, 1972) has compiled an inventory, while Maine (Cowing and Caracappa, 1978; Cowing and McNelly, 1978; Fontaine, 1979, 1980, 1982; Fontaine, Herrick and Norman, 1982) has produced a partial inventory of streams. Prior to this listing, other Massachusetts state stream lists had been developed; however, these varied in accuracy, completeness and availability. This docUJDent attempts to standardize a