Since 1940, the Town of Amherst has maintained significant watershed forest holdings to protect its reservoirs and underground water supplies. Watershed holdings total 2,662 acres, with approximately 690 acres in Shutesbury, 1,537 acres in Pelham, 140 acres in Belchertown, and 300 acres in the Lawrence Swamp in South Amherst. For many years the watershed forest has been under active management for water production, revenue from wood sales, and improvement of timber stands and wildlife habitat. Overall, the Pelham watershed totals approximately 3,950 acres of Town and private land, and drains into three small reservoirs with a combined surface area of about 18 acres. The 3,650-acre Shutesbury watershed feeds Atkins Reservoir, with a 51.5-acre surface area.
In 1941, the Town purchased the Amherst Water Company real estate, which included four reservoirs and considerable acreage in Pelham and Shutesbury, with additional parcels added in succeeding years. The Town now owns approximately one third of the 7,600 acres of land that drain water into the reservoirs, and hopes to increase that percentage when necessary to prevent development that might have a negative impact on the water supply. The Town water supply system currently has seven sources that include the Atkins Reservoir in Shutesbury and Amherst, the Pelham Reservoirs: Hills, Hawley, and Intake, the South Amherst Wells: The Brown Well, the Lawrence Swamp Well and the Bay Road Well
Surface Water Supply
Atkins Reservoir, Pelham Reservoirs
The two reservoir systems, Atkins Reservoir and the Pelham Reservoirs, provide Amherst with approximately half its drinking water and form the Town's surface water drinking supply. Atkins Reservoir, located in northeast Amherst and Shutesbury, is the Town's largest surface water supply with a surface area of 51 acres, a capacity of approximately 200 million gallons of water, and a drainage area of 5.7 square miles. The Pelham Reservoirs are three individual water bodies formed by impounding streams draining into Amherst and with a combined surface area of about 18 acres. The drainage area of these reservoirs covers approximately 6.2 square miles with 18.5 miles of streams in the hills of Pelham east of Amherst.
Ground Water Supply
Wells in Lawrence Swamp
Almost half of Amherst's drinking water comes from ground water supplies located in South Amherst and in Belchertown. Much of the land surrounding the wells is protected by the Aquifer Recharge Protection zoning overlay district described earlier in this report. This zoning district has strict development requirements requiring clustering of homes and onsite storm water infiltration and management. The Conservation Commission, in addition to other Town Departments, actively pursues the preservation of land and open space within the Lawrence Swamp drainage basin to protect the ground water supplies.
Management Philosophy Approaches
Even with the large amount of preserved land surrounding Amherst's surface water supplies, minimal changes in the land use, impervious surface coverage, and forested land within a watershed can greatly alter water quality. Scattered development and frontage lot construction threaten Amherst's drinking water. The Conservation Commission, aware of the need to protect the Town's water supplies, actively supports appropriate measures that will preserve both underground aquifers and their recharge areas, and above-ground reservoirs and their watersheds. The Commission endorses cooperation and assistance with neighboring towns, acquisition of private property, conservation restrictions, and implementation of forestry management plans to maintain the ecological integrity of land surrounding Amherst's surface water supplies.
The importance of these surface water supplies cannot be underscored enough, as they are uphill from Amherst and supply not only the Town's drinking water, but feed the many streams that flow through the community. Atkins Reservoir is two miles upstream from Puffer's Pond, a popular conservation and recreation area, such that the preserved land surrounding the reservoir helps preserve the water quality of the Cushman Brook and Puffer's Pond. Areas in Amherst within the Atkins Reservoir watershed are within the Town's Watershed Protection overlay district to protect the quality of ground and surface water entering the drinking water supply. A grant awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) helped fund the development of a Surface Water Protection Plan, which identifies the potential sources and pathways of contamination and provide a plan to reduce nonpoint discharges to surface waters.
Tangu 1940, mji wa Amherst umedumisha misitu mikubwa ya maji ili kulinda mabwawa yake na ugavi wa maji ya chini ya ardhi. Kwa jumla, eneo la maji ni ekari 2,662, na takriban ekari 690 katika Shutesbury, ekari 1,537 katika Pelham, ekari 140 katika Belchertown, na ekari 300 katika Lawrence Swamp katika Amherst Kusini. Kwa miaka mingi msitu wa maji umekuwa chini ya usimamizi wa kazi kwa ajili ya uzalishaji wa maji, mapato kutoka kwa mauzo ya mbao, na kuboresha misitu ya mbao na makazi ya wanyama wa porini. Kwa ujumla, Pelham watershed jumla ya takriban 3,950 ekari ya Town na ardhi binafsi, na drains katika matangi matatu madogo na pamoja eneo la uso wa takriban 18 ekari. Shutesbury ni eneo la maji la ardhi lenye ukubwa wa ekari 3,650, ambalo linaunganisha maji ya Atkins Reservoir, na eneo la uso wa ekari 51.5. Mwaka 1941, mji kununuliwa Amherst Water Company mali isiyohamishika, ambayo ni pamoja na mabwawa nne na ukubwa mkubwa katika Pelham na Shutesbury, na viwanja vya ziada aliongeza katika miaka ya baadaye. Jiji sasa linamiliki takriban theluthi moja ya ekari 7,600 za ardhi ambayo hutiririka maji kwenye mabwawa, na linatumaini kuongeza asilimia hiyo inapohitajika kuzuia maendeleo ambayo yanaweza kuwa na athari mbaya kwa usambazaji wa maji. Mto wa Atkins ni moja ya mifumo ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji ya maji. Hifadhi ya maji ya Atkins, iliyoko kaskazini mashariki mwa Amherst na Shutesbury, ni maji makubwa ya uso wa mji na eneo la uso wa ekari 51, uwezo wa karibu galoni milioni 200 za maji, na eneo la maji ya 5.7 maili ya mraba. Hifadhi ya Pelham ni maji matatu ya kibinafsi yaliyoundwa na mito ya kuondoa maji ya Amherst na na eneo la uso wa pamoja la ekari 18. Eneo la maji ya mabwawa haya lina karibu maili 6.2 za mraba na maili 18.5 za vijito katika vilima vya Pelham mashariki mwa Amherst. Maji ya chini ya ardhi katika Lawrence Swamp Karibu nusu ya maji ya kunywa ya Amherst hutoka kwa maji ya chini ya ardhi yaliyoko South Amherst na Belchertown. Sehemu kubwa ya ardhi inayozunguka visima ni kulindwa na Aquifer Recharge Ulinzi zoning overlay wilaya ilivyoelezwa hapo awali katika ripoti hii. Wilaya hii ya zoning ina mahitaji ya ujenzi mkali yanayohitaji makundi ya nyumba na infiltration ya maji ya mvua ya mvua na usimamizi. Tume ya Uhifadhi, pamoja na Idara nyingine za Jiji, inafuatilia kwa bidii uhifadhi wa ardhi na nafasi ya wazi ndani ya bonde la maji la Lawrence Swamp ili kulinda usambazaji wa maji ya chini ya ardhi. Hata na kiasi kikubwa cha ardhi kuhifadhiwa kuzunguka Amherst ya maji ya uso, mabadiliko kidogo katika matumizi ya ardhi, impervious uso chanjo, na ardhi ya misitu ndani ya watershed inaweza sana kubadilisha ubora wa maji. Maendeleo yaliyotawanyika na ujenzi wa sehemu za mbele zinatishia maji ya kunywa ya Amherst. Tume ya Uhifadhi, inayofahamu haja ya kulinda usambazaji wa maji ya mji, inasaidia kikamilifu hatua zinazofaa ambazo zitahifadhi wote chini ya ardhi aquifers na maeneo yao ya kuchaji, na juu ya ardhi hifadhi na watersheds yao. Tume hiyo inasaidia ushirikiano na msaada na miji jirani, ununuzi wa mali binafsi, vizuizi vya uhifadhi, na utekelezaji wa mipango ya usimamizi wa misitu ili kudumisha uadilifu wa ikolojia wa ardhi inayozunguka maji ya uso wa Amherst. Umuhimu wa maji haya ya uso hauwezi kusisitizwa vya kutosha, kwani ni juu ya mwinuko kutoka Amherst na hutoa sio tu maji ya kunywa ya mji, lakini huandaa mito mingi inayotiririka kupitia jamii. Hifadhi ya Atkins iko maili mbili juu ya mto kutoka Puffer's Pond, eneo maarufu la uhifadhi na burudani, kwa hivyo ardhi iliyohifadhiwa inayozunguka hifadhi hiyo inasaidia kuhifadhi ubora wa maji ya Cushman Brook na Puffer's Pond. Sehemu za Amherst ndani ya maji ya Atkins Reservoir ziko ndani ya wilaya ya ulinzi wa maji ya mji ili kulinda ubora wa maji ya chini ya ardhi na ya uso yanayoingia katika usambazaji wa maji ya kunywa. Msaada wa kifedha uliotolewa na Idara ya Ulinzi wa Mazingira ya Massachusetts (DEP) ulisaidia kufadhili maendeleo ya Mpango wa Ulinzi wa Maji ya Juu, ambayo hutambua vyanzo vya uwezekano na njia za uchafuzi na kutoa mpango wa kupunguza kutolewa kwa maji ya juu.