WATERBORO — As Waterboro Water District moves toward building a new water storage tower, it is eyeing a location on town-owned land off Bennett Hill Road.

Selectmen on Tuesday gave concept approval for the plan, which is in its early stages.

Waterboro Water District has about 156 residential and commercial customers. It was created in 1993 and originally served 13 customers with polluted wells, said board of trustees Chairman David Benton. He said the district was originally funded by the Department of Environmental Protection. It is not part of the municipal government.

Benton told selectmen the interior of the existing water tank, which holds 300,000 gallons, must be drained and rehabbed within three years. 

“That’s an absolute,” he said. If that happens without an alternative then the town’s hydrants would be out of service, though the district could still service residential and commercial customers. 

If a new tank is built, the district would, once the rehab is complete on the existing tank, have a 600,000-gallon reserve supply.

Town Administrator Gary Lamb in his report to selectmen Tuesday said a new storage tank — and a new well, which is also being eyed — along with other improvements could easily cost upwards of $1 million in land acquisition, labor and materials costs. 

“The Water District is in the process of pursuing a rate increase. In addition, with the small size of our water district, the entire town of Waterboro may be called upon to help with such large projects,” said Lamb.   

As to the proposed new, gravity-fed tank, the town-owned land could be accessed in a couple of ways using the existing Bennett Hill Road and then forging a new road to the location, or negotiating with a private landowner for access to the town-owned land, which would require a new roadway. Selectmen said they like the Bennett Hill Road proposal because it would give the district an opportunity to have more customers.

The district is currently working with Sebago Technics on the storage tank proposal.

During a fire that destroyed the three-unit Brookfield Place plaza July 16, the water district supplied water for the fire for about 2.5 hours, using 230,000 gallons at a rate of 1,533 gallons per minute, the district reported.

It was originally thought power to the pump station was lost, which meant firefighters had to switch to a tanker relay, but the issue turned out to be a drop in water pressure which led to diminished service. The system pressure dropped from an average 71 pounds to 39 pounds and caused customer constraints at various levels, trustees said in a prepared statement. The district asked customers to refrain from irrigation and purchased 80,000 gallons from the Maine Water treatment facility in Biddeford.

In approving the concept plan, selectmen on Tuesday said they could enter into a 99-year lease with the Waterboro Water District for a tract of town-owned land. 

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.