The Water Resources Commission was established in 1956 by the Massachusetts Legislature and is responsible for developing, coordinating, and overseeing the Commonwealth’s water policy and planning activities to ensure that Massachusetts will have plentiful water to support health, safety, economic development, and ecological vitality for generations to come.
The twelve-seat Commission includes appointees from seven state agencies or offices and five public members.
Who we serve
The WRC serves the Commonwealth by creating policies that protect our bodies of water for practical and recreational uses. They do this through:
- Development of new water resource policies for the state, including technical documents supporting such policies;
- Implementation of the Interbasin Transfer Act (ITA), including the review and approval of transfers of water or wastewater between any of the Commonwealth's 28 river basins (including the Massachusetts Coastal Basin) under the Interbasin Transfer Act.