In the News

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal toured the West Parish Treatment Center and Cobble Mountain Reservoir with Springfield Water and Sewer Executive Director Josh Schimmel and commissioners Daniel Rodriguez and Matthew Donnellan on Oct. 21 to mark “Imagine a Day Without Water,” a national day of advocacy and education about the value of water. Also on the tour was Blandford Town Administrator Christopher Dunne.

The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission has embarked on a five-year, $550 million water and wastewater program to upgrade its aging infrastructure, largely dating from the 1930s to the 1970s, with the help of a $250 million low-interest competitive federal loan from the Environmental Protection Agency under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.

The commission is the first utility in Massachusetts to receive the loan, and one of the only ones to receive it for capital improvements, according to a Springfield Water and Sewer spokesperson. Twenty capital projects are being undertaken to reduce risk, enhance climate resiliency, and improve water and wastewater service reliability.

Among the projects included in the five-year plan which began in 2021 is a clearwell and backwash pump station replacement at the West Parish site, being built on top of a water storage tank. Christina Jones, deputy director of water operations, said the commission contracted with C.H. Nickerson, Tighe & Bond and AECOM engineering services on the $25 million project, which is visible from Granville Road.

Completed are upgrades to the diversion gate built in 1930 at Cobble Mountain, which directs raw water to the water treatment plant, as well as planned upgrades to the Cobble Mountain Hydropower Station, also built in 1930.

The largest project in the plan is the new West Parish Drinking Water Treatment Plant. The new $238 million drinking water treatment plant in Westfield will help comply with new regulations, and improve overall water quality and service reliability. Design of the new plant is underway and on schedule. Construction is expected to begin in 2024 and be completed in 2027.

As part of the tour, Neal visited the Cobble Mountain Reservoir, the primary water supply for Springfield and nine other communities in the lower Pioneer Valley. The reservoir is in Blandford and Granville, surrounded by more than 14,000 acres of protected watershed forest that is actively managed by the commission, and restricted from public access.

Constructed in 1931 to serve the growing city of Springfield, the Cobble Mountain Dam, which impounds the reservoir, was the largest earthen dam in the world at the time of construction at 243 feet high. The reservoir is fed by the Little River and Borden Brook Reservoir, which was constructed in 1909. Cobble Mountain Reservoir holds 22.5 billion gallons, which is roughly a two-year supply at today’s consumption rates.

“The thing we have with water and sewer is transparent — we don’t think twice about it,” Rodriguez said. “Obviously, we’re very proud of this beautiful reservoir built in 1959 that serves over 250,000 people.”

Neal said the Springfield water supply is “the envy of America.” He talked about many states that are struggling with water, including Flint, Michigan, where he said the horrors of the lead contamination in the water began “when they decided to turn it over to a private water facility. People ended up dying.”

Neal said the Springfield Water and Sewer commissioners treat their facilities like their own, and know the value of water.

“Clean water has done more to add longevity to life than anything else,” he said.

Executive Director John Schimmel, who said he started with Springfield Water and Sewer as a wastewater operator, said everybody should know about Springfield’s operation.

“At Springfield Water and Sewer, we have hundreds of years of water and wastewater experience. Everyone here is very passionate about water. Step by step, we will rebuild what needs to be rebuilt.”

Upgrades to the 100-year-old Cobble Mountain Reservoir itself are not included in the five-year capital plan. Assistant Engineer Robert Stoops noted that water has never overtopped the dam, which is actively monitored.

Stoops explained that the water from the reservoir is fed by gravity all the way down to the hydro plant, generating enough energy along the way to power 25,000 households. “The Little River is always flowing,” he said, which he called “the nature of an earthen dam.”

Stoops also talked about the 218-foot-tall, 25-foot-wide steel tower surge tank built in 2011, towering over the Hydropower Plant, that protects the water tunnel from water surges through a relief valve that won an engineering excellence award.

More information on Springfield Water and Sewer’s five-year $550 million capital plan and the portfolio of projects is available at bit.ly/wn10xc.