 Portions of the aqueduct follow the route of the Ware River Railway that was discontinued with the building of the Quabbin Reservoir.The siphon starts at the Ware River Diversion by feeding the river water into the aqueduct.If the aqueduct branch which travels to the Wachusett Reservoir (the Wachusett-Coldbrook branch) is closed, then Ware River water feeds into the Quabbin Reservoir for storage; however, if the Wachusett branch is open, then water flows into both the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs.