Middletown May Join Mattabassett District

The Mattabassett District board of directors has agreed to allow the city to become a voting member of the Cromwell waste treatment facility, a major step toward eliminating the city’s aging treatment plant on River Road.

If all three member towns and the city approve, Middletown would join New Britain, Berlin and Cromwell with full voting rights in the plant’s operations. The city would have three members on the district’s board of directors.

The city would pay the district $13 million in two $6.5 million installments for what Mayor Sebastian N. Giuliano said is necessary “to buy our share of the value that’s there.”

The district has proposed a $100 million expansion of its facility in southern Cromwell, and the addition of Middletown would spread the costs among the four towns.

“The alternative is to rebuild our own wastewater treatment plant, which is going to be a much more expensive proposition,” Giuliano said. “We would also lose any ability to rebuild the waterfront for the next generation.”

Giuliano said that if the deal is approved, 100 percent of the city’s waste would be treated at the larger facility. Currently about 40 percent of the city’s wastewater, from the northern portion of Middletown, is treated at the Mattabassett plant.

Eliminating the city’s sewer treatment facility is a major part of a renewed effort to develop Middletown’s Connecticut River waterfront. In a presentation to the planning and zoning commission, Planning Director William Warner said the presence of a treatment facility would make the area unappealing to developers.

“The major benefit to sewer ratepayers will be a significant reduction in sewer usage fees,” said board of directors Chairman William P. Candelori in a news release. “Furthermore, new EPA and DEP standards require the district to construct a nitrogen upgrade system estimated to cost $100 million. Middletown’s inclusion will greatly reduce the costs.”

Middletown officials have said that a new pump station would be needed off East Main Street near the fire training tower. The pump and new pipes would transfer wastewater north along Route 9 to the Mattabassett plant.

The Mattabassett District facility processes wastewater from parts or all of New Britain, Berlin, Cromwell, Middletown, Newington, Rocky Hill and Farmington, discharging treated water into the Connecticut River, the district said in a news release. It has been in operation since 1968 and treats 15 million to 20 million gallons of wastewater a day.