By Carol Britton Meyer

The Weir River Water System board of commissioners this week approved funding to add to the scope of the new one-million-gallon Strawberry Hill water storage tank and booster pumping station design project, including potentially demolishing the remaining structure on the site of old tank this winter if it’s safe to do so.

During the first year of owning the WRWS, officials immediately began developing a master plan to identify water system needs. The Hingham select board serves as the system’s water commissioners.

THE WEIR RIVER WATER SYSTEM WILL STUDY THE COSTS OF REMOVING THIS BUILDING ON PROSPECT AVENUE AS IT CONTINUES ITS PLANS TO REBUILD A WATER TANK ON HULL’S STRAWBERRY HILL.

Priority one in the final plan presented in October 2022 was a new water storage tank within the WRWS distribution system – hence the Strawberry Hill project. A full hydraulic analysis, tank siting study, and a master plan for the work were submitted last January.

The additional funding approved by the board this week will pay for evaluating and determining whether the existing structure on Strawberry Hill can be “demolished and disposed of safely,” WRWS Managing Director/Superintendent Russell Tierney told the commissioners Wednesday night. “I’m confident that there is some kind of contamination, such as asbestos, [to be removed].”

When asked by water commissioner and Hingham Select Board Chair Joseph Fisher if any asbestos that might be found could affect the water supply, Tierney responded that there would be no resulting hazard.

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

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

“The new tank would provide significant benefits to the water system including, but not limited to, redundancy, pressure stabilization, increased fire-flow capabilities, and improved water quality,” Procurement and Contracts Manager David Sequeira explained in a recent memo to the Hingham select board.

WRWS officials will talk with neighbors living on both sides of the Prospect Avenue property about these plans if the project proceeds, Tierney said.

The Hull police and fire communications equipment located in the existing building would be moved to another location when the structure is demolished and eventually installed in the new tank under the tower, where there will be space, according to Tierney. The equipment is installed in the water tank area because reception is better at that height than in some other parts of town.

The work if it moves forward — at an additional cost of $56,400 — is expected to be completed this winter within about a two-week time period -- with minimal noise impacts and debris expected.

The new contract total with Environmental Partners Group, LLC for this part of the project is $342,600. The associated disposal costs for the small structure and any hazardous waste have not yet been determined.

The funding source is through a 2024 Hingham Annual Town Meeting vote. At that time, voters approved an amount of up to $21 million for costs associated with WRWS design, construction, reconstruction, repair, and improvement projects through borrowing.

The approved amount included $12.755 million for the design, permitting, and construction of a new water storage tank at Strawberry Hill; $2.25 million for an associated booster pumping station; $3 million for rehabilitation of the corroding Turkey Hill water tank; and $3 million for ongoing maintenance of the water system.

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