Water Dept. Status Still in Question
By David Huck | Correspondent at October 10, 2023 | 8:15 pm | Print
Will Mayor Tim O’Brien sell the water department or not continues to be a hot topic around the City. And, responses from those involved have been mixed.
A lawyer for the Metropolitan District Commission says that the water organization is looking to expand its holdings and land around its watersheds, but that talks between the group and the city are not active.
“There’s been no negotiations between us and the city,” Christopher Stone, Assistant District Counsel, said in a recent interview. “There’s been no offers made. We haven’t had any discussion about the Water Department or land holdings.”
But sources close to the MDC say there have been talks in recent weeks between the two parties about a possible sale of Water Department property. The source said officials have talked about a deal that would total around $235 million.
The New Britain Water Department consists of 6,000 acres and employs about 50 people.
Four years ago, representatives from the MDC met with former Mayor Timothy Stewart to talk about possibly acquiring more property, including New Britain’s Water Department, as part of its long-term expansion plans.
“I was ready, willing, and able to talk to anybody about anything,” Stewart recalled of those meetings with the MDC’s executive director and president of their governing board. “I told them to start the bidding at $500 million. It quickly ended there.”
In August, the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees selected the Connecticut Water Co. over the MDC and another supplier for a new contract to provide water to the growing college campus in Storrs.
Stone said the MDC’s long-term strategic plan is always to expand its customer base. But, he added, “We’re not actively out there looking for properties or departments to acquire.”
Stewart says it would be foolish for the city to consider selling the Water Department, particularly since major investments have been made there in recent years. The work has included building a new water tank and $67 million for a new filtration plant.
“It would be kind of silly to take your best asset and the one asset that provides the most relief to taxpayers year after year and sell it,” Stewart said. The city collects revenue from the water that is sold to city residents and customers in towns like Berlin, Southington, Plainville, and Farmington.
Stewart said the city’s water system already has interconnections with the MDC. “It doesn’t take much to open the valve,” he said.
The Water Department’s holdings include thousands of acres of land across the state, along with several deep wells. The land is in towns like Burlington, Bristol, Berlin, and Southington.
During the discussions over lunch four years ago, Stewart explained to the representatives that he really wasn’t interested in selling the Water Department. He was more open to selling watershed property that was of no use to the city. At the time, Tilcon was seeking to expand its quarry operations and was seeking to purchase 100 acres from the city. In return, they would have given the city 100 acres, $15 million, and a reservoir. The deal was later blocked by lawmakers, which included then representative Tim O’Brien, in Hartford.
In order for any acquisition to take place, the MDC’s Board of Commissioners would have to give approval to the deal, along with New Britain’s City Council and Board of Water, and the state’s Department of Health. One source said if a sale were to go through, the money would be put into a “special fund” that couldn’t be tapped.
Stone said the MDC, one of the largest land owners in Connecticut aside from the state, is most interested in purchasing property surrounding their watershed areas in order to preserve their water supplies. He pointed to land in areas like New Hartford and Barkhamsted.
“While we’re receptive to any suggestions that we might expand our customer base, we are not overly aggressive in seeking those out,” Stone said. As a non-profit municipality, there are areas in the state outside of the MDC’s land holdings that “need additional water resources” and if those towns seek out the organization’s assistance, “we feel we have an obligation to respond,” Stone said.
Stewart recalls reviewing meeting minutes from some of the early Water Board meetings that were overseen by Frederick T. Stanley.
“The foresight these people had was just unbelievable,” Stewart said, saying divesting such an important component of the community to bring in money to the city would be a mistake.
The New Britain City Journal is under a gag order from City Hall and received no comment concerning the water department possible sale.
