Town water under pressure

The Block Island Water Company is located in a quaint and picturesque setting next to Sands Pond, the second largest body of fresh water on the island. The site was chosen in 1887 since it is slightly elevated from the downtown area and provides somenatural water pressure through gravity.Originally, the water company relied on a windmill-powered pump to pump water into one big wooden tank, with a tank float made from an old beer keg. The two new tanks were put in years ago, one in 1986 and one in 1993, with each having a capacity of 150,000 gallons.The two massive water tanks sit to the side of the water company building, the small size of the building making them look bigger than they actually are. Tanks on the mainland dwarf these tanks by comparison, and can accommodate a much larger waterdemand.Water Superintendent John Breunig is more than a little worried about the demand placed on the tanks and the system in general.The BI Water Company has run a reverse osmosis system since 2002, utilizing three 250-foot wells that reach below the freshwater table used by the private residential wells. Its wells reach through the hard clay layer

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