About Us

The Mattabassett District is a unique institution formed by the State Legislature in 1961 to provide wastewater treatment in a more efficient and cost effective manner to its four constituent communities, New Britain, Middletown, Berlin and Cromwell, than they could independently, as well as adjoining communities in its watershed. Currently this includes portions of Farmington, Newington and Rocky Hill.

In addition to our Headquarters and waste water treatment facility located at 245 Main Street in Cromwell, Connecticut, The District has: an 8.5 mile trunk sewer, which collects all of the communities' waste water and transports it to the treatment facility; an ash landfill; and, a state-of-the-art outfall and diffuser system in the Connecticut River.

We are a unique institution in a number of ways, not including the communities that we serve but in the manner in which we serve them. We are similar to a municipality with similar powers and obligations, but we are a separate and independent institution from the communities that we serve.

Our connection to the communities that we serve is the volunteer Board of Directors, appointed by the four constituent towns served by The District, New Britain, Berlin, Cromwell, and Middletown. This 15-member Board meets monthly to provide guidance, oversight, and financial control to the operation. The Board has four standing committees (Finance, Engineering, Personnel and Property Management) that interact regularly with our management staff and report back to the full Board.

The Management Staff consists of an Executive Director, Operations Manager, Incinerator Manager, Maintenance Manager, Laboratory Manager, and District Engineer. The treatment facility, one of the most efficiently run facilities in the state of Connecticut, is manned 24 hours per day, seven days a week, 365 days a year by only 16 operators.

The unique Mattabassett cost distribution formula has often been cited as a model for regional planning. Assessments are divided between capital and operating expenses, with capital assessments based on allocated flow capacity and operating assessments prorated based on actual annual waste water flows from each community. The cost for treating 1000 gallons of waste water is only $1.10† – one of the lowest for a waste water treatment facility in Connecticut, and among the lowest in the country.

† Based on an Industrial WaterWorld® survey, conducted in 2010 with 175 respondents, average cost is $2.06/1000 gallons of wastewater treated.