Taunton River Watershed Facts

The main stem of the Taunton River, from Bridgewater to Fall River, has been designated as a US Wild and Scenic River.

The Taunton River is formed by the confluence of the Matfield and Town rivers in Bridgewater. Other major tributaries include: the Nemasket River, the Winnetuxet River, the Assonet River, the Forge River, the Mill River and the Canoe and Snake which flow into the Mill, the Three Mile River, the Segregansett River, and the Quequchan River, for which the City of Fall River is named.

• 221 lakes and ponds
• 173 canoeable river miles
• 27 different habitat types
• The 16,800-acre Hockomock Swamp, the largest remaining wetland in Massachusetts
• The Assawompsett Ponds, headwaters of the Nemasket River and the largest natural lakes in Massachusetts
• 29 species of native fish, including native brook trout and the very rare Atlantic sturgeon
• The state's largest alewife run, on the Nemasket River
• 7 species of freshwater mussels
• Rare amphibians and reptiles including the Northern Red-Bellied Cooter, the Eastern Box Turtle, Diamond-back Terrapin and rare salamanders and frogs
• 114 species of birds, including bald eagles
• 3 State Areas of Critical Environmental Concern: The Hockomock Swamp, the Canoe River Aquifer, and the Three Mile River
• 13 State Parks, Forests and Wildlife Management Areas
• 58 state listed rare animals and plants that currently have mapped priority habitat within the watershed. Many more species have been documented in the past and may still live in the watershed. The Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (MA NESP) recognizes:
• 21 Plants
• 17 invertebrate species (7 dragonflies & damselflies, 1 crustacean, 6 moths & butterflies, 3 mussels)
• 20 vertebrate species (9 birds, 2 fish, 3 amphibians, 6 reptiles)

The 43 cities and towns within our watershed are:

Abington                          
Attleboro                          
Avon                                            
Berkley                             
Bridgewater                                 
Brockton                          
Carver                                          
Dartmouth                        
Dighton                            
East Bridgewater
Easton
Fall River
Foxboro
Freetown
Halifax
Hanson
Holbrook
Kingston
Lakeville
Mansfield
Middleboro
New Bedford
Norfolk
North Attleboro
Norton
Pembroke
Plainville
Plymouth
Plympton
Raynham
Rehoboth
Rochester
Rockland
Sharon
Somerset
Stoughton
Swansea
Taunton
Walpole
West Bridgewater
Weymouth
Whitman
Wrentham