Chicopee River
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The Chicopee River is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed April 1, 2011
tributary of the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
in the
Pioneer Valley The Pioneer Valley is the colloquial and promotional name for the portion of the Connecticut River Valley that is in Massachusetts in the United States. It is generally taken to comprise the three counties of Hampden County, Massachusetts, Ha ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, known for fast-moving water and its extraordinarily large basin: the Connecticut River's largest tributary basin.Chicopee River Watershed Council, Chicopee, MA - Frequently Asked Questions
Chicopeeriver.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-15.
The Chicopee River originates in a
Palmer, Massachusetts Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. With a population was 12,448 at the 2020 census, Palmer is the least populous city in the Commonwealth. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...
village called Three Rivers as a confluence of the Ware, Quaboag and Swift rivers. It passes through Wilbraham,
Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...
, and the Indian Orchard neighborhood of Springfield. After forming the border between Springfield and
Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in western Massachuset ...
for a short distance, the river then flows in a sharply curving path through the city of Chicopee and into the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
. (Chicopee was part of Springfield until 1848.)


Watershed

Although the Chicopee River itself is only long, its
drainage area A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...
is the largest in Massachusetts at , and the largest tributary area to the Connecticut River. The Chicopee River Watershed includes all or part of 32 cities and towns. Upstream of the Chicopee River on the Swift River, the Quabbin Reservoir provides drinking water to Eastern Massachusetts ( MWRA service area) and Chicopee itself via the Chicopee Valley Aqueduct.


Water power potential

During the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
, the Chicopee River became a particularly sought-after destination for hydropower, largely because it drops during its course to the Connecticut River. By comparison, the meandering Connecticut River drops just from Chicopee to
Old Saybrook, Connecticut Old Saybrook is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Connecticut, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 10, ...
, where it empties into the
Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
. For this reason, numerous mills were built along the Chicopee River; today, many of them can be found in various states of
repurposing Repurposing is the process by which an object with one use value is transformed or redeployed as an object with an alternative use value. Description Repurposing is as old as human civilization, with many contemporary scholars investigating ho ...
, with a particularly famous mill in Springfield Indian Orchard serving as artists' space.


Dams and crossings

Due in part to its precipitous drop, as of 2011, there are six hydropower dams on the Chicopee River. The average flow of the Chicopee River is 900 cubic feet per second, or about 581,644,800 gallons per day. The Chicopee Falls Dam impounds the river near what is now Bridge Street / Massachusetts Route 33 in the city of Chicopee. There are five other dams on this river segment: Just downstream from the Chicopee Falls Dam is Dwight Dam, located off Grape and Front St. in Chicopee. The next dam upstream is the Indian Orchard Dam north of Route 141 adjacent to an old mill on Front Street. Putts Bridge Dam at Route 21 between
Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...
and the Indian Orchard section of Springfield, the Collins Hydro Dam at Chapin Street between Ludlow and Wilbraham, and the Red Bridge Dam off Red Bridge Road in Wilbraham. The Putts Bridge Dam was constructed in 1918 as a concrete gravity structure. It rises from the bed of the Chicopee River. The Indian Orchard Dam is a cut stone dam with of height above the river. Each of these dams generate
hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
. The Dwight Dam is cut stone with height of 15 ft. There is the remnants of the Ames Sword Company Dam, just downstream from Dwight Dam, this is the last dam on the Chicopee River before it empties into the Connecticut. There also used to be a low-head dam just upstream of the Putts Bridge Dam alongside the old Ludlow Mills. A bridge across the river at what is now Springfield Street / Massachusetts Route 116 in Chicopee opened in 1783. It was replaced by a covered wooden bridge in 1846, and then the steel and concrete William F. Devitt Memorial Bridge in 1931. This was demolished and replaced by a modern bridge, along with the bridge over the Dwight Manufacturer's Canal immediately to the south, in 2012–2013. Around 1900, the Spalding and Pepper Rubber Co. under Noyes W. Fisk constructed a pedestrian suspension bridge at Oak Street as a shortcut for workers. It was destroyed by the
1938 New England hurricane The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great Long Island - New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike the United States. The storm formed near th ...
.Stephen Jendrysik: "Swing bridge" made for fine Chicopee dare before being destroyed in Hurricane of 1938
/ref>


References


External links



profile and documents from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Massachusetts' 28 Watersheds
(official map) {{authority control Rivers of Hampden County, Massachusetts Chicopee, Massachusetts Geography of Springfield, Massachusetts Tributaries of the Connecticut River Rivers of Massachusetts