The History of the Holyoke Water Supply System

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The History of the Holyoke Water Supply System

Sponsored by the BSCES Western Massachusetts Branch

Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, 100 Bigelow Street, Holyoke, MA
5:30 PM Social/Registration; 6:30 PM Meal; 7:00 PM Presentation 

David E. Pinsky, PE
President and CEO, Tighe & Bond

Darleen P. Buttrick, PE
Associate, Tighe & Bond

The Holyoke water system dates back to 1872, when the first Board of Water Commissioners was established. At that time, the commissioners began planning out a network of reservoir systems with the construction of the first reservoir in 1888, followed by two more in 1897 and 1903. Several years later, in 1957, the Commissioners and their engineer, James Tighe, had the foresight to construct the Tighe-Carmody dam high in the hill towns west of the City, impounding billions of gallons of pristine water that would be conveyed to the City via gravity. To this day, the gravity based system envisioned by the City back in the 1800’s continues to provide water of exceptional quality in an energy efficient manner to the City, while continuing to meet all State and Federal water quality regulations. This presentation will follow the history of the development of the water system, from the construction of the network of dams, reservoirs, and pipelines to convey water to the City, to present day including the recent construction of a new ultraviolet disinfection treatment system to meet new drinking water regulations.

For more information, click here.

Registration Fees:
$45 Members, $55 Non-Members
$40 Public Sector Members, $45 Public Sector Non-Members
$15 Senior Members (65+), $15 Students
$450 Table of 10

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Information/Registration: Register to attend this meeting and pay by credit card online by clicking the "Register" button above. To register online for an event at the BSCES member rate you must login using your BSCES assigned username and password. If you do not know your login information call 617/227-5551. You can also register for this event by mail or email. To do so, download and complete a BSCES Event Registration Form follow the submission instructions. Cancellations received after April 20, 2016 and no-shows will be billed.