The canal was first constructed circa 1875. It was Шаблон:Convert in length, and fed the Springfield Reservoir at its eastern side with water collected in the Belchertown Reservoir and swamp. This water, however, was thought to be of poor quality, and thus in 1890–1891 the canal was extended north through the Belchertown Reservoir to Jabish Brook, east of Broad Brook. After this addition, the canal's total length was about Шаблон:Convert, of which Шаблон:Convert ran through a cast-iron pipe (54 inches in diameter) across the Cherry Valley dam. The entire canal was worked to be Шаблон:Convert wide at the surface, Шаблон:Convert wide at the bottom, with a depth of Шаблон:Convert.
References
Springfield (Massachusetts) Board of Water Commissioners, Report for the year ending Dec. 31, 1875, page 61.
Moses Nelson Baker, The Manual of American Water-works, New York : Engineering News Publishing Company, 1891, page 41.
Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Examinations by the State Board of Health of the Water Supplies and Inland Waters of Massachusetts, Wright & Potter Printing Co., 1890, page 297.
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