Arlington Reservoir News

Arlington Town Day - Saturday September 17.  Join us at Town day!   There are still slots for volunteers from 7 am to 3 pm.  More information and signup form here.

Water Chestnut Harvesting.  The water chestnut harvest is complete (see video).   Volunteers remove water chestnuts.

For information about the Reservoir Swimming Beach, view the reservoir beach page on the Town of Arlington Website. The beach is now closed for the season.

Join the Reservoir email list.
If you don't have a Google account, contact us through the contact form on this site.

Welcome to the Arlington Reservoir website.

The Arlington Reservoir (the Res)  was built in the 1870's as part of a municipal water supply system, but has served since the 1890's as a recreational area for walking, swimming, fishing and boating.  A perimeter path of almost a mile is enjoyed by walkers, joggers and bird watchers throughout the year.

The total area of the Res and its shoreline is about 65 acres.  Although all of the Res and adjacent land is owned by the Town of Arlington, about half of it is located in Lexington.  The Res is part of the extensive watershed that connects Arlington's Great Meadows in East Lexington to the Mystic Lakes and Mystic River via Mill Brook.

The Reservoir Committee of the Envision Arlington Environmental Task Group is a group of concerned citizens working to solve the Reservoir's problems. The Committee meets on the third Tuesday of the month in the Arlington Town Hall Annex. Anyone with an interest in the Reservoir is welcome to participate.

Financial donations to support the work at the Res can be made through the Arlington Land Trust, PO Box 492, Arlington, MA 02476, or through their website: arlingtonlandtrust.

Information and Upcoming Events

>2020 Aquatic Management Survey.

>Committee Meetings: Meetings are currently and for the foreseeable future, on line.  If you wish to receive a notification, contact us through the contact form on this site.  Meetings are usually held on the third Tuesday of month at 7:30 pm.  The next meeting will be on  Sept. 20 at 7:30 pm. 

>Work Days: The next work session is planned for Saturday, Sept. 24.   Invasive removal 8-9, Habitat Garden 9-11.

>We would like to start a gallery of recent photos of the Reservoir and surrounding grounds.  You can send us photos for posting by attaching the tif,  or jpg to a email sent from the contacts form.

Wildlife Habitat Garden

Two Reservoir Committee Members, Martine Gougault and Lisa Fredman, work on cleaning up the Garden in the early spring.  We work in the Garden frequently during the growing season from April to October.  Workdays are usually scheduled on the weekends but volunteers can help any time.  If you wish to participate, workdays are listed on this page in the section labelled upcoming events or contact us through the contact form on the Contact Page.  More pictures taken in the Habitat Garden.

A special debt of gratitude is due to the Arlington Department of Public Works Department, whose staff provided critical assistance and support in many ways, initially preparing the site and especially by installing the water pipes and spigots that helped sustain the garden through the dry spells.

The habitat garden is planted with native shrubs, grasses and wildflowers that provide shelter and food for a wide variety of wildlife, including rabbits, turtles, toads, birds, butterflies bees, dragon flies and many other species.  The successful wildlife habitat garden must provide food, water, shelter and places to raise young.  Native plants provide the foliage, pollen, nectar and seeds that many species need to survive.  The garden is located on the main path from the parking lot on both sides of the spillway (see map).

Inspired by an anonymous donation from an Arlington Land Trust member and subsequent contributions from many other ALT members and local residents along with support from the Conservation Commission, the Wildlife Habitat Garden came to life this spring and summer after several years of planning and design work.  The garden was started in 2011 and is maintained by the Reservoir Committee, a part of Arlington's Vision 2020.  Financial donations to support this work at the Reservoir can be made through the Arlington Land Trust, PO Box 492, Arlington, MA 02476, or through their website.  Those who wish to volunteer can contact us through the contact form on the Contacts page.