The present Lake Cochituate is the so-called Framingham Reservoir and now serves as a major swimming and boating resource but is no longer part of the potable water supply.

Metropolitan Boston's demands for fresh water began to outstrip its local supplies in the early part of the nineteenth century.

Many possible sources of water were explored, including groundwater and rivers, but none were considered adequate in quantity and cleanliness to meet the needs of the rapidly growing city.

[3] The General Court acted to establish the Metropolitan Water District, including 26 communities within ten miles (16 km) of the Massachusetts State House, later in 1895.

The Board of Health study had anticipated that Swift River water would be required by 1915, but this prediction had proven overly pessimistic.

The lawsuit was unsuccessful, but Massachusetts was still bound by discharge minimums set under the regulatory authority of the Secretary of War over navigable waters.

The land remaining from the disincorporated towns was added to surrounding municipalities, including Belchertown, Pelham, New Salem, Petersham, Hardwick and Ware.

[7][3] The North Prescott Methodist Episcopal Church was moved to Orange in 1949, and then to New Salem in 1985 where it forms part of the building complex of the Swift River Valley Historical Society.

Three student housing facilities at Hampshire College in Amherst are named after the discontinued towns of Greenwich, Prescott, and Enfield.

Four residence halls at the nearby Eagle Hill School are also named for the four towns: Greenwich, Prescott, Dana, and Enfield.

To protect the water supply from the threats from unrestricted motorized vehicle use, most areas around the reservoir are publicly accessible only by foot, with limited parking available at some of the surrounding gates.

Large portions of Dana are on higher ground, and its remains, predominantly cellar holes, as well as the former town center (where a historic stone marker was placed) can be visited.

However, Prescott cannot be visited most of the year due to state restrictions, although there is an annual tour of the town conducted by the Swift River Valley Historical Society.

Cellar holes have been filled near the center of what was once Prescott to accommodate the former Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory, once operated by the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

This large block of forested land supports a great diversity of wildlife, and has been the focus for the re-establishment of several species in Massachusetts.

Bald eagles, loons, moose, deer, coyotes, black bears, foxes, and bobcats share the habitat, among others.

A proposed plan to establish a colony of endangered timber rattlesnakes to Mount Zion Island on the Quabbin was suspended indefinitely in 2017 after public opposition.