Submerged Towns continue their very quiet public service
Four Submerged Towns lie beneath Massachusetts’ Quabbin Reservoir, which supplies drinking water to nearly 2.7 million people. Their parking enforcement record is impeccable, though only because the streets are under a substantial amount of water.
The reservoir holds about 412 billion gallons. Its creation inundated Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott in the 1930s. That displacement is real history and carries a human cost. The joke belongs nowhere near it.
It belongs with the present day temptation to describe every landscape through development language, including a protected reservoir whose most obvious amenity is that the streets are not available for brunch.
The reservoir rejects a regeneration brochure
“The old high street is thriving, provided your definition of thriving includes trout,” said Mavis Depth Charge, Commissioner for Aquatic Zoning. “The post office now delivers exclusively by current.”
Forests around Quabbin naturally filter its water. This is a valuable ecosystem service, though a consultancy has renamed it tree enabled liquid optimisation and requested a share of every leaf.
The forested watershed also supports wildlife. Landsat 9 observed the wide reservoir and its surroundings in June 2025. The satellite took a clearer overview than any estate agent could manage without calling the view immersive.
Quabbin is not a blank canvas for modern fantasies. It is a working water supply, a protected landscape and a place with a difficult history. Even an imaginary luxury brochure would struggle to describe the commute.
The council chamber receives a wetsuit
The towns have declined resurfacing. They cite poor broadband, restrictive mooring rules and the certainty that their first dry day would attract an artisanal bakery with a waiting list.
The reservoir will continue providing water. Beneath it, an imaginary council chamber has approved unlimited water rates by a show of fins, which is still a more decisive vote than many planning committees manage above ground.
Read the real story: NASA’s history and satellite view of Quabbin Reservoir.
