Next Wednesday night, residents can virtually explore the reservoir that supplies our water.
Expert Michael Tougias will will narrate a slideshow at the Southborough Library. The author will delve into the history and present of the Quabbin Reservoir.
The free public talk will take place May 21 at 7:00 pm.
Tougias is well versed on the subject, having penned Quabbin: A History and Explorers Guide.
The program features the demise of the “lost towns” flooded to create the Quabbin, the construction of the massive reservoir, and how the Quabbin works today.
Tougias’ slides include before and after images of the lost towns, workers building the dams and aqueduct, the grand opening of the reservoir, wildlife of the Quabbin, unique natural places, and favorite trails and entrance gates.
Today, the Quabbin provides water for Southborough, Boston, and numerous other towns in the area.
Tougias will also take the audience on a natural history tour of the Quabbin and surrounding area with suggestions for day trips. The surrounding forest is the largest tract of open space in southern New England, and home to nesting loons, bald eagles, coyotes, porcupines, and moose.
Michael Tougias is the author and co-author of many other books, including books on hiking and exploring New England, true survival-at-sea stories, one of which, The Finest Hours, is being made into a movie.
The presentation is co-sponsored by The Friends of the Southborough Library and the Southborough Open Land Foundation.
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This history is fascinating and reveals just why we are fortunate enough to have ‘our” reservoirs as Boston’s water supply moved place by place in search of more water, I heard the author or perhaps another specialist talking with students from Boston who only knew their water came from faucets… would our kids have the same answer?