Stonington — The Water Pollution Control Authority on Tuesday partially lifted the moratorium on new sewer hookups in Mystic, which will allow projects, such as the $100 million addition to the Perkins Farm development and a new boutique hotel and restaurant planned at Mystic Seaport Museum, to connect to the sewer system.

"These are positive things for Mystic," authority Executive Director Douglas Nettleton told the authority.

"They're also a positive thing for the grand list," added authority member Lynn Young, who also serves on the Board of Finance.

The grand list is the list of taxable real estate, motor vehicle and personal property in town. Increases to the grand list, especially those from large commercial projects, help keep taxes low for homeowners.

The authority has been grappling with increased flows into the Mystic sewer plant, which resulted in the town placing a moratorium on new sewer hookups in Mystic because the plant had reached the limit of sewage it is allowed to process set by its permit. The plant's permitted treatment capacity is 800,000 gallons per day but at times it has exceeded 900,000.

But in November the authority identified and blocked a 6-inch-diameter pipe in Old Mystic that was allowing a large amount of Mystic River water to enter the sewer treatment system during high tides and storms. The authority also is in the midst of an inflow and infiltration study to determine other sources of unwanted water entering the system. 

On Tuesday, the authority members reviewed reports that show that the flows into the Mystic plant this past November and December were 30% of those in the same months in 2020.

On Tuesday, the authority voted to allow projects that generate a total of 40,000 gallons of sewage a day to connect to the system. Projects, such as the addition to the Hartford HealthCare facility and a second 124-unit upscale apartment complex at the Perkins Farm, have zoning approval but cannot be built and opened until sewer capacity is available. The authority's decision on Tuesday will allow those projects to go forward. The authority also pointed out that the apartment complex comes at a time when Electric Boat has announced it will be hiring over 3,000 more employees this year, creating a demand for more housing.

Nettleton said the approval of the additional flow, along with one last fall for 50,000 gallons, also will allow smaller projects such as new homes to finally move forward after being delayed due to the moratorium.

j.wojtas@theday.com