The Holyoke Water Works (HWW), sometimes referred to as the Holyoke Reservoir System, is a public
drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...
utility and
municipal service
Municipal services or city services refer to basic services that residents of a city expect the local government to provide in exchange for the taxes which citizens pay. Basic city services may include sanitation (both sewer and refuse), water, ...
agency of the City of
Holyoke, Massachusetts
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,247. Loca ...
, which provides clean drinking water to that city. Founded in 1872 by an act of
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...
, the system was developed as a series of reservoirs to serve the growing city's residents and industry at the end of the 19th century. Today its two primary drinking water sources are the Tighe-Carmody Reservoir in
Southampton, Massachusetts
Southampton () is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It was established first as a district of Northampton in 1732. It was incorporated in 1775. The name Southampton was given to it during its first town meeting in 1773. I ...
and McLean Reservoir in Holyoke. While it maintains reserve drinking water supplies at the
Ashley
Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsċ'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
...
and the
Whiting Street Reservoirs.
The Water Works is entirely responsible for drinking water supplies, infrastructure, and watershed land conservancy, however it does not maintain sewage or stormwater treatment infrastructure or services, which fall under the responsibilities Department of Public Works.
Service area
The HWW service area primarily covers Holyoke, however has inactive connections to the Southampton Water Department (SWD) which split off of the raw water supply, providing the majority of the town's water as recently as 2002. In constructing a pipeline to the Tighe-Carmody Reservoir in 1953, the Water Works was required to supply 5 "Y branches" splitting off said pipeline of at least 8" in diameter, in locations decided by the town selectmen; two remain today. Though presently inactive, the town is allowed to draw at no cost up to 125 gallons per resident per day, not exceeding 625,000 gallons per day without a prior rate negotiated with the HWW. Though fluoridated and treated with chlorine, the Water Works' Reservoir System remains one of only 4 systems in the Commonwealth with no filtration, due to the quality of its water supply, with the only others being the
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is a public authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that provides wholesale drinking water and sewage services to 3.1 million people in sixty-one municipalities and more than 5,500 large ...
and its
Quabbin Reservoir system, and the water departments of
Northfield and
Concord
Concord may refer to:
Meaning "agreement"
* Harmony, in music
* Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other words
Arts and media
* ''Concord'' (video game), a defunct 2024 first-person sh ...
.
Private wells
More than 99% of Holyoke's households are provided water by the Reservoir System, however some homes in the
Smith's Ferry and
Rock Valley areas remain supplied by private wells. Those in Rock Valley draw from the
Barnes Aquifer and may however require additional home filtration due to
trichloroethylene
Trichloroethylene (TCE) is an organochloride with the formula C2HCl3, commonly used as an industrial metal-degreasing solvent. It is a clear, colourless, non-flammable, volatile liquid with a chloroform-like pleasant mild smell and sweet taste. (TCE) contamination from industrial
degreasers
Parts cleaning is a step in various industrial processes, either as preparation for surface finishing or to safeguard delicate components. One such process, electroplating, is particularly sensitive to part cleanliness, as even thin layers of oil ...
dumped in the area by
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston.
Over the year ...
during the 1950s; for this reason the City no longer maintains public wells there following the closure of the Pequot and Coronet Hills wells in 1988.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
2018 Consumer Confidence Report Holyoke Water Works
Government of Holyoke, Massachusetts
Southampton, Massachusetts
Water supply and sanitation in Massachusetts
Water management authorities in the United States
Water companies of the United States
1872 establishments in Massachusetts
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