Quabbin watershed towns that have long pressed eastern Massachusetts for funding and a seat at the table for reservoir decisions just got a major ally — Gov. Maura Healey.
A drought this year has exposed the reservoir’s shoreline, and residents of the western Massachusetts towns that surround and protect the Quabbin are experiencing their own water shortages without being able to tap the resource in their backyard that flows eastward to Boston.
“It is time that we more fully recognize the unique contributions of the people and municipalities of the Quabbin watershed,” Healey wrote in a letter Wednesday to Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Interim Director Stephen Estes-Smargiassi.
“As you know, the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir resulted in many sacrifices by this region,” she wrote. “Every day, these watershed communities provide an invaluable public service to the communities served by the MWRA system. They continue to help protect the watershed’s natural resources while navigating infrastructure constraints, including limitations on their own water supply and economic development.”
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which supplies wholesale water and sewer service to about 3.1 million people and more than 5,500 businesses in 61 eastern and central Massachusetts communities, manages the reservoir alongside the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The Quabbin is among the cleanest watersheds in the nation, and so-called steward communities say they make sacrifices to maintain its drinkability, while well water most of them rely on are contaminated or affected by drought. The watershed communities also often point to the four towns that were disincorporated and intentionally flooded in 1938 to create the reservoir.
Boston didn’t have enough water and there was land in Western Massachusetts that was perfect for a reservoir — but 2,500 people lived there. In 1938, they had to give up everything so the state could take the land. This is the story of the Quabbin Reservoir and the people still affected by its construction.
“When we face water restrictions during drought conditions, those restrictions are rarely matched by conservation measures in MWRA system communities,” said a letter sent to eastern Massachusetts communities earlier this year from residents of Pelham, New Salem, Petersham and other Quabbin-adjacent towns. “It would seem fair that when we are under drought conditions, water users should also be taking steps to safeguard the water we are sending east.”
Towns warn that drought conditions are colliding with a governance structure they say leaves watershed communities bearing water-use restrictions, development limits and shrinking local revenues while lacking both compensation and representation.
The MWRA board held a meeting in July at the Quabbin Visitor Center in Belchertown to hear from local residents and lawmakers, who testified on watershed equity, representation on the board, and financial support for host communities.
In her Wednesday letter, Healey pointed to that meeting, and said she appreciated the MWRA’s “openness to engage on the issues that matter most to the Quabbin communities.”
She urged the authority to work with local communities on steps including supporting local municipal police and fire response efforts in and around the watersheds and providing technical expertise from MWRA officials for water infrastructure planning and design, including assisting them with state and federal grant and loan applications.
The governor is also advocating for the MWRA to create a new body to serve as a forum for concerns, including members of the gubernatorial administration, MWRA and advocates from the Quabbin and Wachusett watersheds.
On the local water supply issues, Healey is calling on the authority to engage with local leaders to come up with specific, near-term solutions, as well as urging all MWRA member communities to implement state recommended watering restrictions during a drought.
“The cruel irony is inescapable: our people cannot drink the Quabbin water that we protect,” the January letter from watershed communities said. “Private wells throughout our region are dry or are tainted with PFAS.”
While the Quabbin lies entirely in western Massachusetts, only one member of the 11-person MWRA board — Monson Town Administrator Jennifer Wolowicz — lives west of Worcester County. Communities have often advocated for more representation on the board, but Healey’s letter does not address this issue directly.
“I am confident that a dedicated, collaborative effort by MWRA, working hand in hand with the Quabbin communities, will help them thrive while more meaningfully recognizing their essential role in protecting a clean and reliable water supply for millions of people in Massachusetts,” Healey concluded.
Sam Drysdale
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