This morning, the MWRA Board of Directors appointed Zorica Pantić President of the Wentworth Institute of Technology, as Chairperson of an independent panel of experts that will examine the circumstances that led to the loss of the insulating coupling along a section of the MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel, which resulted in a boil water order for 30 Eastern Massachusetts communities.

The MWRA Board's vote was unanimous. Board Chairman Ian A. Bowles thanked President Pantić for accepting this important charge. "Wentworth is one of the premier engineering schools in the country and we're extremely lucky to have her."

President Pantić thanked the Board, "It is an honor for not only for me personally, but an honor for Wentworth as well."

The expert panel, which is now being being formed, will prepare a report of its findings and recommendations about the design, construction and other defects or deficiencies that may have contributed to the failure of the affected section of the tunnel, including any evidence that may allow MWRA to pursue cost recovery efforts. The panel will also make general recommendations about the design, installation and testing of past and future pipe coupling systems.

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Updated May 26, 2010