Wachusett Dam | |
---|---|
Official name | Wachusett Reservoir Dam |
Location | Clinton, Massachusetts, USA |
Coordinates | 42°24′13″N 71°41′16″W / 42.40361°N 71.68778°W |
Construction began | 1897 |
Opening date | 1905 |
Operator(s) | MWRA |
Dam and spillways | |
Impounds | Nashua River |
Height | 205 ft (62 m) |
Length | 965 ft (294 m) |
Reservoir | |
Creates | Wachusett Reservoir |
Wachusett Dam Historic District | |
Location | Clinton, Massachusetts |
Architect | Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge; Olmsted Brothers |
MPS | Water Supply System of Metropolitan Boston MPS |
NRHP reference No. | 89002269[1] |
Added to NRHP | January 18, 1990 |
The Wachusett Dam in Clinton, Massachusetts, impounds the Nashua River, creating the Wachusett Reservoir. Construction started in 1897[2] and was completed in 1905. It is part of the Nashua River Watershed.
This dam is part of greater Boston's water system, maintained and controlled by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). Its discharge is into the Nashua River. When it was completed in 1905, the Wachusett Reservoir was the largest public water supply reservoir in the world.[2] At that time, the Wachusett Reservoir Dam was the largest gravity dam in the world as well.