ABOUT THE MYSTIC RIVER WATERSHED
A watershed is a land area draining to a river or other body of water, in this case, the Mystic River. Ridges on the horizon often define the boundaries of a watershed. The Mystic River Watershed covers 76 square miles or roughly 1% of the land area of Massachusetts. Its headwaters begin in Reading, MA and form the Aberjona River, then flow into the Upper Mystic Lake in Winchester. From the Lower Mystic Lake, the Mystic River flows through Arlington, Somerville, Medford, Everett, Chelsea, Charlestown, and East Boston before emptying into Boston Harbor. There are 44 lakes and ponds within the Watershed, with Spot Pond being the largest standing body of water at 307 acres in size. The 21 communities within the Mystic River Watershed include:
- Arlington
- Belmont
- Boston (Charlestown & East Boston)
- Burlington
- Cambridge
- Chelsea
- Everett
- Lexington
- Malden
- Medford
- Melrose
- Reading
- Revere
- Somerville
- Stoneham
- Watertown
- Wilmington
- Winchester
- Winthrop
- Woburn
The Mystic River Watershed includes nine subwatersheds, listed below. Specific information related to these subbasins is available in the Mystic Action Plan, Chapter 2.
- Aberjona Subbasin (~25% of the total watershed area)
- Horn Pond Subbasin
- Mystic Lakes Subbasin
- Mill Brook Subbasin
- Mystic River 1 Subbasin
- Alewife Brook Subbasin
- Malden River Subbasin
- Mystic River2 Subbasin
- Chelsea Creek Subbasin
Major tributaries of the Mystic River include Chelsea Creek, the Malden River, Alewife Brook, and the Aberjona River.
Find out what other groups are involved with the Mystic River Watershed on Our Partners list.