This is a drinking water storage facility and pump station behind the site of the former Boston Regional Medical Center near Spot Pond in Stoneham. The project consists of two, 10-million gallon buried concrete tanks that provide additional system storage for the Northern Low Service area and stabilize pressures in the Northern Low Service area supplying Somerville, Malden, Medford, Everett, Chelsea, and Charlestown. The storage tank reduces flows in the City Tunnel System by lessening the use of pressure-reducing valves to feed the Northern Low Service area from the City Tunnel System during normal operations.

The pump station is partially buried underground and supplements the Gillis Pump Station by providing pumping redundancy to the 21 communities served by the Northern High and Northern Intermediate High Service areas.

In October 2011, MWRA awarded a design/build contract for the construction of this 20 million-gallon water storage facility and pump station to Walsh Construction Company.

After the events of September 11, 2001, MWRA received special legislation enabling it to build this tank and the Blue Hills Covered Storage Tank in Quincy by the design/build method, as covered storage adds to the security of the water system.

However, the project was held up for several years pending the identification and purchase of a suitable site for the tank. Siting considerations such as elevation, location relative to demand center and proximity to MWRA’s existing system identified the Spot Pond vicinity as the crucial location. Seventeen sites were identified and six were shortlisted and were examined in detail. Two sites had more favorable attributes. The preferred alternative, the former Boston Regional Medical Center had less community opposition, did not impact open space adjacent to Spot Pond, could accommodate the addition of the proposed pump station and had lower construction costs making it the most viable option, although it had higher land acquisition