<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1dCUbW_1GnxVE0700" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1dCUbW_1GnxVE0700" width="1200" height="600" >BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - For months, neighbors near the Quabbin Reservoir have sounded the alarm over a plan to pump millions of more gallons of water out east. Now those concerns are finally being heard. The Massachusetts Water Resources Commission is hitting the reset button on a controversial study that would have changed how we protect our local water source. The Quabbin Reservoir is the crown jewel of Massachusetts, the largest inland body of water in the state and a vital source of unfiltered drinking water for millions. But for people living nearby, this resource is a treasure they have protected for generations.In a letter sent by the Massachusetts Water Resources Commission, the agency officially announced their plan to withdraw from their current controversial regional water plan. The proposal would have cleared a path to pump up to 20 million more gallons of water a day toward eastern Massachusetts.The authority admitted a growing apprehension over its study, saying the move avoids unnecessary confusion. Moving forward, officials pledged to stick to the traditional inter-basin transfer act process, requiring communities to apply individually. Western Mass lawmakers fiercely opposed the application, including state Senator Jo Comerford, “the delegation wrote directly also to the MWRC and said, Hey, MWRC, this application doesn’t square with us. It’s actually not in good faith. You’re issuing this request to take 20 million more gallons a day from the Quabbin,” Comerford said.Comerford called Thursday’s decision a major win for regional equity in western Mass. She points out that the MWRC never even identified specific receiving communities in its request, leaving watershed towns feeling sidelined while facing their own critical challenges. “In the MWRC’s application, it is notable that they talk about the really exponential, unbridled economic gain that would be made possible by this pristine water. And at the same time, the communities that steward the water are in economic hardship. They don’t have their own potable water future secured. And they still abide by all manner of state and federal regulation to keep this water pristine and really police and respond as first responders in the watershed,” Comerford stated.</div></body>

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BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - For months, neighbors near the Quabbin Reservoir have sounded the alarm over a plan to pump millions of more gallons of water out east. Now those concerns are finally being heard. The Massachusetts Water Resources Commission is hitting the reset button on a controversial study that would have changed how we protect our local water source.

After fierce opposition, Mass. officials withdraw Quabbin water draw proposal

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BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - For months, neighbors near the Quabbin Reservoir have sounded the alarm over a plan to pump millions of more gallons of wa

After fierce opposition, Mass. officials withdraw Quabbin water draw proposal

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