Weston Working Group Backs Revised Cat Rock Tank Design, Saving Up to $4 Million

WESTON — September 25, 2025 — Weston's Water Tank Working Group unanimously backed a revised Cat Rock tank design projected to save between $2 million and $4 million in capital costs. Wright-Pierce engineers Amy Coppers and Rob Williamson presented a plan to keep the Cat Rock tank at its existing elevation of 367 feet rather than raising it to 404 feet under the original design, splitting the town's distribution system into northern and southern zones and eliminating a costly parallel transmission main. Peer reviewer Matthew Connor of Weston Sampson said the change would improve water age "two and a half times" and dramatically reduce the number of homes experiencing pressures above 100 PSI. DPW water superintendent Rich Sullivan backed the approach for its water quality benefits, while Select Board Chair Lisa Revers and member John McDonald both expressed support. A separate water main expansion study covering roughly 90 unserved homes across six road corridors carried a preliminary price tag of approximately $11 million, prompting Town Manager Leon Gaumond to call it "a very lengthy and detailed conversation" — one the board agreed to schedule as a standalone agenda item.