Quabbin Reservoir, school budget woes, canceled rail car contract

By Carrie Saldo

Published April 19, 2024 at 1:35 PM EDT

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Carrie Saldo, host of The Rundown, is with panelists Nancy Eve Cohen, Mike Dobbs, and Matt Szafranski.

Tony Dunne / NEPM

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CRRC, a facility in Springfield, Mass., where trains are manufactured.

Heather Brandon / NEPM

3 of 3 — Quabbin Reservoir

In this September 2013 aerial file photo provided by the Massachusetts Deptartment of Conservation and Recreation, a dirt and stone road leads to Mount Zion Island, at rear, at the Quabbin Reservoir in Petersham, Mass.

Clif Read/AP / Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation

One of the largest unfiltered water supplies in the United States is located right here in the 413. The Quabbin Reservoir provides 3.1 million people in central and eastern Massachusetts with drinking water, but could more western Massachusetts communities gain access to that resource?

The Pittsfield schools superintendent double checked some state numbers and unlocked $2.4 million in additional state aid for the district facing $3.6 million in budget cuts. We talk about this as many more western Massachusetts school districts grapple with budget woes.

Plus, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) announced late last week it is terminating its $185 million contract with the Springfield train car manufacturer CRRC. We get into the impacts this canceled contract could have on the company and the community.

This week’s panel includes veteran journalist Mike Dobbs; Matt Szafranski, editor-in-chief at Western Mass Politics & Insight; and NEPM reporter Nancy Eve Cohen.