Where Does Burlington’s Water Flow?
Community Contributor, John Keeley, highlights the town's three watersheds and where they flow.
by John Keeley, Community Contributor & Retired Conservation Administrator
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Vine Brook has been in the news lately, as the Burlington Police Department settles into their temporary home at the former Vine Brook Water Treatment Plant while their new headquarters is constructed. Vine Brook is the largest and best known waterway in Burlington, in part because, for decades, this aquifer provided the Town with drinking water.
There are many smaller streams in Burlington, though, and they’re just as critical ecologically as Vine Brook. These water sources are within watersheds that provide drinking water and recreation for several downstream communities.
A watershed is the land area that drains to a waterway. Burlington lies within three major watersheds: the Shawsheen, the Ipswich, and the Mystic. Depending on where you are in town, a raindrop landing in your yard could flow into the Atlantic Ocean in three different places.
The largest watershed in Burlington is the Shawsheen watershed. Vine Brook and a few smaller brooks flow into the Shawsheen River, which continues to be a source of drinking water for the town.
Water is pumped from the Shawsheen River in Billerica into the Mill Pond Reservoir when there is sufficient flow in the river. During droughts Mill Pond can get quite low, as the Shawsheen River flows are too low for pumping.
The Shawsheen River is actually part of a bigger watershed, that of the Merrimack River, which empties into the ocean between Newburyport and Salisbury.
Most of northern Burlington lies within the Ipswich River watershed. Sawmill Brook, Lubbers Brook and Maple Meadow Brook comprise the headwaters of the Ipswich.
From its source in Burlington, the Ipswich River eventually empties into the ocean at Ipswich Bay.
The Ipswich is sometimes pumped dry by downstream communities for drinking water and lawn watering.
East Burlington is a headwaters for the Mystic River Basin. Littles Brook is the largest brook in town within the Mystic.
Burlington’s flows reach the Mystic after first joining the Aberjona River in Woburn. The Mystic River empties into Boston Harbor in Everett.
So a raindrop landing in Burlington could end up in Newburyport, Ipswich or Everett!
Find out what watershed you’re in at MassMapper online.
