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Michael Gorski, Regional Director
The Western Region covers the largest geographic area of the agency's four regions, having jurisdiction over 101 communities. It also has the second largest concentration of industry (centered around Springfield, Chicopee and Holyoke) in the state after the greater Boston area, but is the smallest of the DEP regions in terms of population, with a majority of its 800,000 residents concentrated in the lower Pioneer Valley.
A feature unique to the Western Region is its lack of transition zones between older industrial cities and rural farming communities, of which there are many.
The region's major natural features include the Connecticut River, a major source of hydroelectric power; the Quabbin Reservoir, supplying drinking water to 2.1 million people in 46 communities; and the Berkshire mountains. Major river basins in the region include the Chicopee, Connecticut Mainstem, Deerfield, Farmington, Hoosic, Housatonic, Millers, Quinebaug and Westfield.
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