After sharp pushback from local communities and lawmakers, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority has withdrawn its request to transfer 20 million more gallons of water per day from the Quabbin and Wachusett reservoir system.
MWRA Interim Executive Director Stephen Estes-Smargiassi cited “concerns about the analysis and the process surrounding it” in a Tuesday letter sent to Water Resources Commission Executive Director Vandana Rao.
“We take those concerns seriously. As stewards of an essential regional water resource, we recognize the importance of maintaining the confidence and trust of the Quabbin communities that have protected and supported the Quabbin watershed for generations,” Estes-Smargiassi wrote.
A delegation of western and central Massachusetts lawmakers in October called on the MWRA to pull the plug on its water request, in an environment that Northampton Sen. Jo Comerford called “red hot” surrounding the issue. Concerns about the MWRA proposal surrounded inconsistency with the 1983 Interbasin Transfer Act, a law critics say requires there to be a distinct receiving community before a transfer is approved. The proposal as submitted would have approved a large amount of transferable water before being matched with proposed transfer locations.
Opponents also pointed to the Quabbin’s diminishing shoreline and repeatedly suggested that the proposal was another blow in ongoing inequity between western and eastern Massachusetts.
“It was the right decision by the MWRA. The community had spoken loud and clear about why it wasn’t the right process and why asking for that much more Quabbin water without having any indication of where it was going obviously needed some much further examination,” Rep. Aaron Saunders of Belchertown said about the news.
Northampton Sen. Jo Comerford said in a statement that she “heartily” applauds the MWRA’s decision, calling it “a powerful recognition of the significant concerns raised by Quabbin watershed constituents and communities.”
The MWRA said in its letter that it will “commit to returning to the traditional process under the Interbasin Transfer Act of considering the donor basin and receiving communities contemporaneously,” in which each community application for admission to the MWRA system “will include a specific donor basin analysis and a discussion of the demonstrated water needs of that community, providing the same meaningful consideration that has historically been provided when evaluating interbasin transfers.”
Estes-Smargiassi laid out the authority’s “intention in using the regional supplier provisions” of the 1983 Interbasin Transfer Act but wrote, “It is clear that the use of that regulatory option added to confusion and concern, rather than allaying it.” He said the analysis and information developed for the submission will inform subsequent ones.
The decision was discussed with incoming MWRA Executive Director Jonathan Gulliver, per the letter, “who supports withdrawing the current analysis and pursuing a more focused submission that addresses the demonstrated needs of the communities currently seeking admission to the MWRA system.”
“Respecting the concerns of the Quabbin watershed communities while also recognizing the demonstrated water supply needs of communities seeking to join the MWRA system is a balance he and we are working to achieve,” Estes-Smargiassi continued.
Saunders said that with new leadership at the MWRA, “I am feeling a bit hopeful that this is the type of indication that they’re interested in sitting down with Quabbin communities and having that long overdue discussion about what true equity looks like in the region.”
Rao wrote in a statement that the WRC had received the withdrawal.
“We will continue to review these comments to inform the commission’s work moving forward and remain engaged with communities to ensure their voices are heard and considered,” Rao said.
