Whiting Street Reservoir

Whiting Street Reservoir, often shortened as Whiting Reservoir a Class I hazard reservoir, is an auxiliary drinking supply for the city of Holyoke, Massachusetts. The reservoir has an impound capacity of more than 479 million gallons of water and a safe yield of 1.5 million US gallons (5,700 m3) of water per day.[2]

Whiting Street Reservoir
Pine stand on the shores of Whiting Reservoir
Whiting Street Reservoir is located in Holyoke
Whiting Street Reservoir
Location in the United States
Whiting Street Reservoir is located in Massachusetts
Whiting Street Reservoir
Whiting Street Reservoir (Massachusetts)
Whiting Street Reservoir is located in the United States
Whiting Street Reservoir
Whiting Street Reservoir (the United States)
Official nameWhiting Street Reservoir
CountryUnited States of America
LocationHolyoke, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°14′29″N 72°38′10″W / 42.241509°N 72.636026°W / 42.241509; -72.636026
PurposeDrinking water supply
StatusOperational
Opening date1888
Owner(s)City of Holyoke
Operator(s)Holyoke Water Works
Reservoir
Total capacity479×10^6 US gal (1.81 Gl)
Catchment area897 acres (363 ha)
Surface area114 acres (46 ha)
Maximum length6,280 ft (1,910 m)
Normal elevation387 ft (118 m)[1]
Website
http://www.holyoke.org/departments/water-works/
The first gatehouse of the reservoir, as seen in 1904

The reservoir's construction finished and it became fully operational in 1888, with an access road added in 1897. The reservoir was built by damming up Raging Brook with a sandstone dam and earthen berm. Though the third water source added to the Holyoke Water Works, the reservoir was the first in the system to be created by a dam.[3] Fishing is not allowed in the reservoir to protect against aquatic invasive species. Following new filtration requirements in the 1980s, the Reservoir was put on standby in the early 1990s.[4]

Regulations designed to ensure pure water include the prohibiting of dogs, horseback riding, camping, smoking, sledding and motorcycle riding are among prohibited activities from the reservoir and abutting property.[5] The trail and access road around the reservoir was rededicated in 2018 as the Rudy Lengieza Cross Country Course for a former coach of high schools' boys and girls cross-country Holyoke Catholic High School who had served in that post for more than 50 years.[6]

References

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  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Whiting Street Reservoir
  2. ^ "HWW The Water System". City of Holyoke. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  3. ^ "Whiting Street Reservoir". Holyoke Canal System Tour. 2019. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020.
  4. ^ Lauer, Martin J. (July 21, 1987). "Water rates could triple, Proulx warns". Springfield Union-News. Springfield, Mass. p. 3.
  5. ^ "Holyoke Council wants risky reservoir entrance addressed". 20 April 2017.
  6. ^ Plaisance, Mike (June 21, 2018). "'Coach Rudy' to get honored with plaque dedication in Holyoke". The Republican. Springfield, Mass.
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