From the Executive Director 

As we approach year’s end, I would like to thank all Commission employees for their hard work and accomplishments in 2023. This year featured the completion of years of work on two cornerstone capital projects: the York Street Pump Station and Connecticut River Crossing Project, and the new Backwash Facility at West Parish Filters. It also included some firsts – the launch of the new Pipeline Program to build our water workforce of the future, and the first boil water emergency the Commission has experienced in decades. Both showcased the tremendous amount of teamwork, innovation, dedication, and adaptation that defines our staff and makes me proud to lead this organization. I am particularly proud of the time and mentorship so many of you voluntarily shared with our 12 Springfield high school Pipeline interns; the program could not have been the success it was without your efforts and interest in our community’s future water professionals. 

We will continue to build in 2024. We especially look forward to breaking ground on the new West Parish Water Treatment Plant, a generational reinvestment that will ensure that we can provide reliable, high-quality drinking water for decades to come. We also look forward to welcoming our second cohort of Pipeline interns, and to many other new and ongoing projects and initiatives to modernize our infrastructure and continue to demonstrate that our employees are the “best in the business.”

I wish you and your families a happy and peaceful holiday season.

Happy Holidays!

Josh Schimmel

Executive Director

(L-R) New Backwash Facility at West Parish Filters; York Street Pump Station located on West York Street in Springfield; Summer 2023 Pipeline Program interns at Borden Brook Reservoir. 

This fall, this Commission celebrated the completion of the Backwash Facility at West Parish Filters and the York Street Pump Station and Connecticut River Crossing Project on West York Street and Bondi’s Island. These two critical capital projects involved years of planning, strategic financing, and construction, before being brought online to modernize the system and provide much-needed redundancy. As part of the celebrations the Commission invited the public to tour the facilities and see first-hand their ratepayer dollars at work.

Kudos goes out to all Commission staff that worked behind the scenes and the day of the events to ensure they were a success! 

West Parish Filters Open House/Imagine A Day Without Water - October 19

Communications Manager Jaimye Bartak leads visitors on a tour of the old and the new at West Parish Filters, including the 1920s slow sand filters (left) and the recently completed Backwash Facility (right). 

To mark Imagine a Day Without Water the Commission hosted Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno for a tour of the drinking water treatment facilities, including the new $25M Backwash Facility, which was nearing completion in October. Following the event with the mayor, the public was invited to an open house to tour the past, present, and future of drinking water at West Parish. Stops on the tour included the 1920s slow sand filters, 1970s era rapid sand filters – the primary method of filtration today, and the new Backwash Facility. Attendees had the opportunity to check-out 90% renderings of the new drinking water treatment plant, scheduled to begin construction in 2024. Also on display, and a highlight of the tour, was the giant pumpkin grown by Chief Water Operator Pete Thayer.

The event had a great turnout, with over 100 members of the public attending. Many attendees commented on how fascinating it was to learn about all that goes into producing safe drinking water, and that "the pride that the Commission staff have in their work was palpable."

The entire West Parish team played an important role in hosting the event. Thank you to all the crew members for their help with event setup (including many posters and easels!), help with parking, greeting guests, answering questions, leading tours, and so much more. 

(L-R): Water Operations and Engineering staff (top) Mike Popko, Jacob Weinrich, Christina Jones, Nick Herman, Bob Conroy, (bottom) Darleen Buttrick, and Kim Clemons (from Bondi’s/Administration) greet visitors at the West Parish Filters Open House. 

Laboratory Technician Deanna Domenichelli explains the Commission’s water quality testing program to a West Parish Open House visitor. 

Pete Thayer (center left) poses for a photo with his award-winning giant pumpkin,and Executive Director Josh Schimmel (left), Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno (center right), and Commissioner Matthew Donnellan (right).

York Street Pump Station and CT River Crossing Project/Ribbon Cutting and Open House

(L-R): Retired Commissioner William Leonard, Congressman Richard Neal, Commissioner Matthew Donnellan, Executive Director Josh Schimmel, Commission Chairwoman Vanessa Otero, and Commissioner Daniel Rodriguez at the ribbon cutting for the new York Street Pump Station. 

A cornerstone project of the Commission’s Integrated Wastewater Plan and Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Renewal Program (WWIRP), the York Street Pump Station and Connecticut River Crossing Project, which broke ground in 2019, was completed this fall. The project replaces aging infrastructure, improves resiliency and environmental protection, and will reduce combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharges into the Connecticut River by approximately 100 million gallons in a typical year.

To celebrate the completion of this significant infrastructure renewal project the Commission hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on November 17th. Speaking at the ribbon cutting were Congressman Richard Neal, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, EPA Region 1 Deputy Administrator Karen McGuire, Commission Chairwoman Vanessa Otero, and Executive Director Josh Schimmel.

After the ceremony, the public was invited for an afternoon open house to tour the new pump station and learn more about its role in protecting public health and the environment. The open house event was attended by over 50 people. Many were curious to check out the finished project that they have been watching (mostly from I-91 or the South End Bridge) over the past few years, including river crossing construction in summers 2021 and 2022 which included cranes and barges in the CT River.

The tours, which were led by Director of Wastewater Operations Steve Frederick, Communications Manager Jaimye Bartak, Educational Outreach Manager Katie Shea, and staff from Veolia who will operate the station on behalf of the Commission, took visitors down 43 steps to the mezzanine level to get a closer look at the state-of-the art pumps, pipes, and technology that can pump approximately 60 million gallons of wastewater per day.

Attendees commented that the tour was a great opportunity to get a glimpse into the inner workings of the wastewater system – something we rely on every day, but do not usually get to see up close. The tour also highlighted the significant reinvestment the Commission is making to replacing aging infrastructure and improve system resiliency and redundancy.

Helping to make the event possible were Matt Krupa and the Ludlow Reservoir Crew for event setup, Paul Roberts and Vince Mazzuca for help with setup and greeting guests, Rosie Serrano for help with refreshments, and Kim Clemons for event planning, tent rental, refreshments, and help with tours and greeting guests. 

Legislators and city and state officials tour the pump station as part of the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Director of Wastewater Operations Steve Frederick (left) and retired director Bill Fuqua at the York Street Pump Station, a project they brought from design to completion.

Steve Frederick leads visitors on a tour of the new York Street Pump Station during the public open house event. 

Executive Administrative Assistant Kim Clemons (center) with summer Pipeline Interns, Quaid Corbitt (left) and Anthony Rodriguez (right) who helped at the event.

The following employees celebrated milestone years of service in 2023. Thank you for your many

years of dedicated service to our community!

10 Years

Christopher Tranghese, Public Access Coordinator

David Root,  Environmental Analyst

Kyle Morrissey, Maintenance Technician II

Clyde Snow, Working Foreman II

Sara Medina, General Ledger Supervisor

Paul Roberts, Maintenance Tech IV

15 Years

Elise Tarnauskas, Process Control Analyst

Michael Townsley, Resident Manager

Shaun Guyer, Working Foreman II

Kevin Zeneski, Treatment Plant Operator III

Jason Lonczak, Maintenance Tech IV

Luis Nuñez, Maintenance Tech III

Craig Roy, Working Foreman II

Roger Perusse, Maintenance Tech II

Chase Miller, Working Foreman II

Richard Wise, Cross Connection

20 Years

Robert Hoffman, Service Inspector II

Matthew Krupa, Resident Manager

Sinnet Abdoo, Bacteriologist

25 Years

Madroy Mabry, Maintenance Tech II

30 Years

Joshua Schimmel, Executive Director

35 Years

Dawn Downer, Senior Customer Service Representative

Domenic Pellegrino, Director of Finance

40 Years

Anthony Basile, Comptroller

Happy Holidays!

West Parish Filters festively decorated for the holidays.

Email them to Communications Manager Jaimye Bartak at jaimye.bartak@waterandsewer.org or Educational Outreach Manager Katie Shea at katherine.shea@waterandsewer.org. 

For more employee news and Commission updates visit the employee intranet/SharePoint site: 

waterandsewerorg.sharepoint.com/

The Pipeline: December 2023 edition cover photo, Cobble Mountain Reservoir and Spillway, November 2023. Photo credit: IT/GIS Drone Team.