The Commission manages and maintains infrastructure in the watershed associated with drinking water supply, including dams, pipes, and intake structures. The Commission also maintains roads, culverts, and gates that facilitate access to these critical structures.
A culvert channels water under a road. The Commission owns and maintains over 200 culverts in the watershed. Keeping culverts intact, unblocked, and properly aligned ensures that stormwater and streamflow are transported without eroding roads and channels, or carrying sediment to source waters. Most culverts on Commission property carry roadside drainage and are in good condition.
Commission staff inspect a culvert in the watershed.
The Commission annually assesses culverts on watershed roads to determine if maintenance, repair, or replacement is necessary. Those that are failing are considered for repair or replacement, and those in need of maintenance are maintained by watershed maintenance staff.
There are over 40 miles of unpaved roads in the watershed, 16 miles of which are owned and maintained by the Commission. Keeping these roads in good condition reduces sedimentation to waterways, maintains accessibility to Commission property, and provides emergency services with a clear and safe route within the watershed. Staff work to maintain roadways in good condition and improve others to facilitate access to remote property and limit erosion and sedimentation.
Gravel is spread on an unpaved road in the watershed.
Within the Commission’s expansive 18,000 acre watershed areas at Cobble Mountain, Borden Brook, and Ludlow Reservoirs are several dams. In total, the Commission owns and operates 10 dams. Dams are regulated by the state of Massachusetts and the Commission is required to adhere to strict standards to ensure dam maintenance and regulatory compliance.
The Commission’s dams range in age from 90 years to 110 years old. Commission crews and contractors perform annual routine maintenance such as the clearing of trees and vegetation from adjacent spillways. Funding for dam maintenance is included in the annual capital budget.