Operating a hydro station and water supply system

COMBINING the output of a watershed for the generation of electricity with the supply of water for domestic consumption produces interesting problems, which the Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMEC) and the City of Springfield, Mass., have successfully solved in the unique arrangement which integrates the two water uses. The electric utility company and the municipality embarked upon this joint venture with the signing of an agreement on June 21, 1928. Runoff from a 45.8-square-mile drainage area is impounded in the Cobble Mountain Reservoir system where an aggregate of 3,000 million cubic feet can be stored. Water for both power and domestic use is drawn from this reservoir via a tunnel to the powerhouse. Here the energy in the water is transformed to electric energy during the peak hours of the day. Upon completion of its work at the power station, the water is retained in the intake reservoir which forms the tailrace for the power plant. From this intake reservoir, the water is drawn off to the sedimentation and filtering works, hence through the distribution system to its final use as domestic supply for Springfield and its neighbors.