Rutland State Forest is in the Ware River Watershed.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) owns approximately 23,000 acres in the Ware River watershed. Located in Central Massachusetts between the Quabbin Reservoir and the Wachusett Reservoir, the Ware River watershed is the land and water that drain to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) diversion facility on the Ware River in Barre. The water that enters the intake travels to either the Quabbin or Wachusett Reservoir through an underground tunnel, the Quabbin Aqueduct. The watershed includes some or all of Barre, Hubbardston, Oakham, Phillipston, Princeton, Rutland, Templeton, and Westminster.