Amends nearly 90 years in the making are one step closer to becoming a reality after the state Senate passed a bill last week that would secure investments for towns around the Quabbin Reservoir.
The Mass Ready Act, originally filed by Gov. Maura Healey and championed by state Sen. Jo Comerford, now goes to the House, where the Northampton Democrat is confident any key differences can be hammered out.
“It’s a lot of wins for our district,” Comerford said of the legislation that passed on April 15.
Passage of the bill as written would establish the Quabbin Host Community Trust Fund to support the services, public safety and development of municipalities within the Quabbin Reservoir watershed, and require the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) to make an annual $50,000 payment to each of the 11 Quabbin watershed towns in fiscal years 2027 and 2028. Communities in the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester districts that would benefit include Athol, New Salem, Orange, Pelham, Petersham, Shutesbury and Wendell.
The bill also aims to expand representation on the MWRA Board of Directors by adding a member from a Quabbin watershed community to represent land and water resource protection and host community interests.
“I’m elated that the Senate passed it,” Comerford said. “Our team worked on this bill — you know, we laid the groundwork for this bill — for years.”
The creation of the Quabbin Reservoir came in the wake of The Great Boston Fire of 1872 — which destroyed 776 buildings across 65 acres in two days, killing at least 13 people and causing $60 million of personal property loss. Officials at the time identified the state capital’s dire need for better water access and the Quabbin region was ideal because it averaged 44 inches of rainfall annually and had hundreds of small streams flowing into the valley.
At least 1,100 structures, including 650 homes, were dismantled. Property was taken by eminent domain if homeowners refused to sell their houses to the state for fair-market value. Anyone with a business in one of the towns received no compensation for it. An act of the state Legislature disincorporated Dana, Prescott, Greenwich and Enfield — the four “lost towns” — on April 28, 1938. Thirty-four cemeteries, consisting of 7,613 graves, were removed to create the reservoir, and the state offered to inter the deceased and the displaced residents of the four towns for free.
A town that had a significant amount of land taken for the flooding was New Salem, and Town Coordinator Emily Hill said there is a sense of relief across the rural community, though it comes with the feeling that the benefits and compensation may not be enough.
“It’s at least something from the state,” she said.
Hill said she has worked closely with Comerford since becoming town coordinator about 10 months ago.
“Everyone in New Salem adores Jo Comerford,” she said. “She is very much the knight for the small towns that do not have a voice for themselves.”
Hayley Bolton, Shutesbury’s town administrator, is a member of the Quabbin advocacy group Quabbin Watershed Stewards and has attended numerous meetings, giving her a behind-the-scenes look at the fight for regional equity.
“In Shutesbury, it’s a really exciting proposal because we rely so heavily on property taxes,” she said, adding that rising health insurance costs have put a strain on the town. “It would be a tremendous impact [to have the bill become law].”
The bill also would establish a commission on flood risk mitigation and resilience in the Connecticut River Valley and secure $60 million for flood mitigation and resiliency projects, including initiatives recommended by the special commission.
It also includes major statewide investments championed by Comerford, such as $500 million for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant program (supporting climate resiliency planning in cities and towns) and $132.5 million for the Food Security Infrastructure Grant program, including $7.5 million for the Massachusetts Food Trust Program, to increase access to healthy and affordable food.
The legislation was redrafted and reported to the full body by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means with a 15-0 vote on April 8. The state Senate passed the bill on a 36-3 roll call vote. It is the most recent version of the Mass Ready Act, which was filed in 2025 and received favorable reports from the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets.
