Town of Bethel Approves $442K Funding for Eureka Water Tank

A special town meeting was held Wednesday to discuss $442,000 in additional funding to construct the Eureka Water Storage Tank on Long Ridge Road in Danbury. The money comes from bonds and is not a taxpayer expense, according to First Selectman Matthew Knickerbocker.

Knickerbocker said he was happy with the approval.

“I am very pleased that this last hurdle is out of the way. The next step is to actually break ground, which will happen later this summer. This is very important and long awaited improvement for customers of the municipal water department. The Eureka tank will allow further expansion of Clarke Business Park to bring jobs and help grow our grand list to keep residential taxes down. It will also improve volume and pressure for better fire fighting capabilities. This is a wise investment for our water customers.”

Fire Marshal Tom Galliford said, “The tank will allow the Bethel water system, which includes the fire hydrants in the downtown area, to have a reserve of water and enough capacity to effectively supply the fire apparatus in the chance of a major fire that requires multiple hose lines to be flowing water at the same time from one fire incident, or if there are multiple fires in the downtown area . Our fire apparatus can pump from 1000 to up to 2,000 gallons per minute of water as long as there is enough water to supply it.

Bethel residents also approved acceptance of a $100,000 grant for Downtown Transit Oriented Development/Revitalization Planning. The town will contribute $150,000 to the project from the Bethel Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Related:

Should the Town Approve $442K+ for the Eureka Water Tank?

Water Tank Issue May Be Nearing Resolution

Patch file photo