The land surrounding the Cobble Mountain and Borden Brook Reservoirs, which are the Commission’s main drinking water supplies, is known as the Little River Watershed. A watershed is an area of land that sends water (rainfall, groundwater, or snowmelt) into a water body, such as a river or lake.
Approximately 14,000 acres within the Little River Watershed in Blandford, Granville, Russell, Tolland, Otis, and Westfield, Massachusetts is protected, owned, and/or managed by the Commission for the purpose of protecting water quality at the source ("source water protection"). The Commission actively manages these lands to protect and promote resilient and biologically and structurally diverse forests in order to maximize water quality protection.
The Commission also owns and manages approximately 1,400 acres of watershed forest surrounding the Ludlow Reservoir in Ludlow and Belchertown, Massachusetts. The reservoir is maintained as an emergency water supply, and the forest is also actively managed to protect water quality. Passive public recreation is allowed in the forest area surrounding Ludlow Reservoir.
Source Water Protection Activities
