By Carol Britton Meyer

**REMEMBER THIS?** For decades, the water company maintained a storage tank atop Strawberry Hill, but took it out of service in 2008. The Weir River Water System is studying building an even larger tank on the same site within the next two years. [File photo by John Galluzzo]

A new one-million-gallon water storage tank could be built on Strawberry Hill within the next three years as part of the Weir River Water System’s capital improvement plan.

The new tank would be about double the capacity of the former water tank, which was taken down after a 2008 study by the water company determined the 75-year-old structure was no longer needed.

Pending successful completion of a feasibility study and other factors, the water storage tank would be built in either 2024 or 2025, as well as a booster pumping station, Weir River Water System Managing Director/Superintendent Russell Tierney told the Board of Water Commissioners last week. The location of the pump station would be determined following discussions with Hull officials, Tierney said.

The new tank and pumping station would improve the reliability of service while ensuring adequate water pressure and flow for Hull customers.

During the meeting, the board, comprised of Hingham’s three select board members, approved an agreement with Environmental Partners Group, Inc. for preliminary design work for this project.

If the feasibility study, which involves a hydraulic analysis and geotechnical surveys of the proposed tank and potential booster station sites, shows the project to be a good fit and if it is demonstrated that the hill would provide a solid foundation that could support the tank, the next step would be the preliminary design work. The water company still owns the land on Prospect Avenue where the former tank stood.

The total cost of this phase is not to exceed $241,200, which would come from bond proceeds from the purchase of the water system. More information will be available at a later time.

Last week’s meeting focused on the fiscal year 2024 budget and proposed projects, including the one related to Strawberry Hill.

According to Tierney, there's a focus on the Strawberry Hill area, as this was identified as the number-one site for a new tank following an analysis of the system.

Hingham town meeting voters earlier this year authorized the borrowing of $5.4 million for water system capital investment in the water system, half in FY22 and the other half in FY23, that would be paid for by the system’s ratepayers in Hingham, Hull, and North Cohasset. These funds are earmarked to pay for the costs associated with designing, engineering, constructing, reconstructing, repairing, and improving the system.

Regarding another capital project in Hull, Tierney also reported that the design of the Manomet Avenue replacement water main “is being completed in fiscal 2023.”