Providence Water
The Town of Scituate consists of approximately 35,000 acres. Approximately 13,000 acres of town land is owned by the City of Providence (Providence Water Supply Board). Almost 85% of town land, about 29,000 acres, are within the reservoir watershed. That means that about 38% of the total town land area is devoted exclusively to the production of water (for about 70% of the state's residents). Only very limited parts of the town are serviced by public water, (parts of Hope and North Scituate). Excluding watershed lands, already developed land, land with constraints, and publicly owned land, the approximate vacant land available for residential development is about 9,000 acres . . . only 1,500 (approximate) acres of this total lies outside the watershed. (These facts are contained in the Scituate Comprehensive Plan of 1995.)
The Scituate Reservoir was begun in 1915 as a means of supplying the City of Providence with a clean supply of water for its residential and industrial uses. To the Town of Scituate, however, there was a significant price to pay. Schools, churches, and a railroad were flooded along with 300+ houses, 200+ barns all in six villages - all gone. From an agricultural point of view, more than 25 dairy farms were lost, forever limiting agriculture in town. The current reservoir has a shoreline length of 66 miles and is about seven miles long at its maximum length. It has an average depth of 32 feet with a maximum depth of 87 feet. Its maximum width is 2 1/2 miles, and it can yield 92 million gallons per day. At its maximum elevation, it can store 41 billion gallons. The drainage area into the reservoir which includes several towns adjacent to Scituate is approximately 93 square miles or about 59,000 acres. The watershed area of the reservoir is paramount in the amount of annual rainfall runoff that flows into the reservoir. About 40 billion gallons of water flows into the reservoir each year. The production of water is the largest industry in the town. It dominates most land use decisions, and because of its size and placement, the reservoir controls and limits what can and cannot be developed or built in the town. It has made the property tax the primary source of income to support town services, and severely limited any but "clean industry" located in town.
The Town of Scituate consists of approximately 35,000 acres. Approximately 13,000 acres of town land is owned by the City of Providence (Providence Water Supply Board). Almost 85% of town land, about 29,000 acres, are within the reservoir watershed. That means that about 38% of the total town land area is devoted exclusively to the production of water (for about 70% of the state's residents). Only very limited parts of the town are serviced by public water, (parts of Hope and North Scituate). Excluding watershed lands, already developed land, land with constraints, and publicly owned land, the approximate vacant land available for residential development is about 9,000 acres . . . only 1,500 (approximate) acres of this total lies outside the watershed. (These facts are contained in the Scituate Comprehensive Plan of 1995.)
The Scituate Reservoir was begun in 1915 as a means of supplying the City of Providence with a clean supply of water for its residential and industrial uses. To the Town of Scituate, however, there was a significant price to pay. Schools, churches, and a railroad were flooded along with 300+ houses, 200+ barns all in six villages - all gone. From an agricultural point of view, more than 25 dairy farms were lost, forever limiting agriculture in town. The current reservoir has a shoreline length of 66 miles and is about seven miles long at its maximum length. It has an average depth of 32 feet with a maximum depth of 87 feet. Its maximum width is 2 1/2 miles, and it can yield 92 million gallons per day. At its maximum elevation, it can store 41 billion gallons. The drainage area into the reservoir which includes several towns adjacent to Scituate is approximately 93 square miles or about 59,000 acres. The watershed area of the reservoir is paramount in the amount of annual rainfall runoff that flows into the reservoir. About 40 billion gallons of water flows into the reservoir each year. The production of water is the largest industry in the town. It dominates most land use decisions, and because of its size and placement, the reservoir controls and limits what can and cannot be developed or built in the town. It has made the property tax the primary source of income to support town services, and severely limited any but "clean industry" located in town.