Education and Community
Watershed Management

A watershed is an area of land that feeds water (rainfall, groundwater, or snowmelt) into a water body, such as a river or lake.

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. Approximately 14,000 acres within the Little River Watershed in Blandford, Otis, and Granville, Massachusetts is protected, owned, and/or managed by the Commission for the purpose of water quality 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, 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.

Map of Little River Watershed

Map of Ludlow Reservoir Watershed

Watershed Recreation

Ludlow Reservoir Forest Management

Watershed Education Program

A feeder brook in Little River Watershed
Protected forest land surrounding Cobble Mountain Reservoir
Fishing on Ludlow Reservoir