Waterford - For the last nine years, the town of Waterford has held a 10-year option to purchase Miller's Pond, a privately owned, 80-acre body of water near Interstate 395.

But a scenario in which Waterford would need water from the pond appears unlikely given the current availability of water, members of the town's Utility Commission said at a commission meeting Tuesday.

Discussion of the pond was prompted by a Dec. 1 letter from First Selectman Daniel Steward to Commission Chairman Peter Green, in which he asked Green to "please advise as to actions that should or could be taken" with regard to the option agreement, set to expire in November 2015.

Green said during the meeting that the letter was the first correspondence he had received pertaining to the pond in many years. He said that, as far as he knew, sufficient water was available to the town from New London, with which the town holds an interlocal water agreement set to expire in 2028.

After the meeting, Green explained that the town already has a pipeline connection to Groton water sources that could be opened if a need were to arise due to situations such as an increase in demand for water or under disaster circumstances. That water connection currently is closed.

Waterford's Utility Commission is responsible for sewage and water infrastructure in the town. Its residents purchase their water from New London's water authority. That water originates at Waterford's Lake Konomoc, which is owned by New London, and sent through transmission lines that run through New London into Waterford.

Rob Schacht, whose family owns Miller's Pond, has said he anticipates that the town will not act on the option to purchase the pond. The Schacht family has been considering uses for the pond outside of making it a public water resource for Waterford, including selling the pond to another water authority or to a private owner, Rob Schacht has said.

The option agreement stipulates a $5 million price tag for the pond. Taking anticipated compound interest into account, the price would now stand at roughly $6.7 million, according to Steward's letter.

Neftali Soto, chief engineer for the town, said the commission would need to undertake studies of the pond before making a decision about whether to purchase it.

He said the commission would need to verify the pond's yield, and would need to find out the amount of water the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection would permit to be used. The town also would need to look into what measures would be required to avoid contamination of the pond from Interstate 395, he said.

Southeastern Connecticut Water Authority officials previously have stated that Miller's Pond could supply up to 1.5 million gallons of water a day if it were cultivated as a public water source; but Soto said he would need to know more about how that amount was calculated.

Soto said he would notify Chris Clark, operations manager for the Mohegan Tribal Authority, of the pond's availability for purchase. Clark is also co-chairman of the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Government's Regional Water Committee. Soto said the council currently is working on a study of water sources in the region.

Beyond studies and assessment of need, Waterford would not be permitted to make use of the pond's water without approval from New London. Such permission could only be granted under certain conditions, per the interlocal water agreement.

Waterford could not use the pond as a source for water unless New London agreed that it did not have a sufficient amount of water to meet Waterford's needs, according to members of the commission.

The agreement states that New London would first have to determine "that providing water to new Applicants would reduce reserves to a level below that required by prudent engineering and operating practices," and then consult with Waterford and confirm the finding, before Waterford could pursue use of a new water source.

Assuming "the town has available a suitable additional source of water supply, the Town shall make such supply available if such availability would allow new Applicants in the City and the Town to be served without reducing reserves below the level in accord with prudent engineering and operating practices," the agreement states.

Soto said that such a situation in theory could arise if a new business that required a lot of water were trying to establish a site in Waterford.

Commission member Ken Kirkman said that, given the agreement's constraints, New London would be more likely to find itself in a position to purchase the pond than would Waterford.

"Why would we even be looking at Miller's Pond?" he said during the meeting. "It's not ours. It would be New London that would be getting it."

Commission member Steph Negrin emphasized after the meeting that the commission is satisfied with Waterford's agreement with New London.

"We are very happy customers of New London's," he said, adding, "We pay reasonable rates."

t.townsend@theday.com

Twitter: @ConnecticuTess