One Reservoir, More Than 130 Years of History
Waban Hill Reservoir's Role in Newton's Water System
Newton undertook the creation of a municipal water system almost immediately after converting from town to city government in 1873. The Waban Hill Reservoir was the first major project for the new system. Newton joined the metropolitan Boston sewer system in the late 19th century but relied largely on its own municipal system for a supply of clean water until it joined the water supply part of the metropolitan system in the 1950s.
The sources below summarize this history.
1880 From S. F. Smith's History of Newton (excerpt on Newton's first few years as a city, including creation of the water system)
1990s History of Newton's water & sewer systems, from website of the Jackson Homestead/Historic Newton
2011 Section on Newton's water and sewer systems highlighted from "Landscaping the Garden City: Transportation, Utilities, and Parks in Newton, Massachusetts, 1874-1915," by John H. Spiers (Boston College), Historical Geography vol. 39
November 2015 Waban Hill Reservoir History, handout prepared by Historic Newton for site ribbon cutting, with assistance from the Waterworks Museum at the nearby Chestnut Hill Reservoir (Brighton, MA)
The Waban Hill Reservoir dam was constructed in the late nineteenth century to provide high service pressure and storage of water for the City of Boston and neighboring communities. The reservoir was filled by water pumped through a water supply pipeline located in the pump house.
Though originally constructed to supply drinking water for proximal residents in Newton and Boston, the reservoir had not used for that purpose for many years. In 2012, the MWRA determined that the Waban Hill Reservoir was no longer needed and notified the City of Newton that it would be declaring the reservoir surplus, thereby turning the 5-acre property over to the Commonwealth for further disposition. That presented an unexpected opportunity for the City of Newton to acquire a unique landscape, which provides a vista of unparalleled height combined with a large, rain-filled body of water.
In 2015, the City officially re-purchased the site from the MWRA and residents were able to finally, and legally, enjoy the site.
The dam comprises 2.9 acres in the 5 acre terrain, with a length of 1,100 feet (along Manet Road or Woodlawn Drive), and a height of 22 feet, as measured from the toe of the embankment along the southern (Ward Street) side. Along the entire periphery of the reservoir, the crest of the berm is flat with a width of approximately 15 feet.
The average height of the dam is 269.5 ft. above sea level, which is one of the highest points of elevation in Newton, thus providing a vista that attracts Newtonites from all over the City, who visit the reservoir to appreciate the peace and quiet afforded by this unique site. The Waban Hill Reservoir affords a remarkable landscape, with a view of the setting sun lying above a canopy of green treetop foliage, with sparkles of luminescence reflecting from the surface of the water in the reservoir.