Lt. Gov visits United Water in Holyoke

HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) - The Lieutenant Governor was in Holyoke this afternoon to tour a waste water treatment facility that's leading the way in helping clean up the Connecticut River.

United Water in Holyoke has been in operation since 2006.

Since then, five-hundred-million gallons of waste water, that would have otherwise ended up in area water-ways, has been cleaned up.

Federal mandates prevent cities from allowing discharge into rivers and streams after storm water overflows.

United Water in Holyoke has prevented about 90-percent of pollutants in this instance.

Federal stimulus money and state bond bills could help jump-start a backlog of waste water projects from getting underway in other cities and towns.