The Ten Mile River and Narragansett Bay and Mount Hope Bay Shore basins are located in Norfolk and Bristol Counties in southeastern Massachusetts, and contain all or part of 16 cities and towns, including the cities of Attleboro and Fall River. Although the basins include urbanized areas, most inland areas are sparsely settled woodlands, wetlands, agricultural lands, and some brushlands.

Relief in the basins is low. Topography is characterized by glacially rounded hills; maximum elevations are about 450 ft above sea level. The following description of the water resources of the Ten Mile River and Narragansett Bay and Mount Hope Bay Shore basins is based on Hydrologic Investigations Atlases 300 (Williams, 1968), 560 (Williams and Tasker, 1978), and 275 (Willey and others, 1978).