Ground water

Water for some industries and smaller communities is obtained from wells in glacial sand and gravel deposits in lowland areas and from wells in bedrock. Springs, especially at the base of bedrock hills, are also a water source to many homes and some towns in the basin. Some of the largest sand and gravel deposits in the basin occur just east and northeast of Monument Mountain in Great Barrington and Stockbridge.

Bedrock in the basin consists of limestone, dolomite, marble, quartzite, schist, and gneiss, and is commonly highly deformed. Limestone, dolomite, and marble generally underlie valleys in this basin and form potentially high-yield aquifers. Wells that intersect openings along joints and faults in limestone, dolomite, and marble generally produce the highest bedrock yields in the State.

Circulating ground water has, in places, enlarged openings along joints and other fractures making this bedrock aquifer capable of sustaining high yields to wells. Some bedrock wells in Pittsfield have been tested at rates exceeding 1,000 gal/min