A Brief Overview Dudley Pond covers 84 acres, having a maximum
depth of over 30 feet. It is thought that the Pond resulted from
a detached ice block during the last glaciation of New England
during the Pleistocene Epoch, which upon melting, left behind a
topographic depression. The pond is fed by rainfall and by an
inlet on the southeastern shore. There are many theories that
the pond is spring fed, but there is no evidence to support this
hypothesis. There could be a slow flowing aquifer originating
from the Rice Road/Woodridge area that feeds water to the pond,
but it remains only in theory with some biological evidence
pointing towards the possibility. Once connected by underground
pipe to Lake Cochituate, Dudley Pond served as a standby
drinking water supply for Boston from 1847 to the turn of the
century. At that time an algae taste in the water eliminated the
Pond from the system. Owned by the Commonwealth and designated a
"Great Pond" (because it covers more than 10 acres), its
management and administr