The Hickok water tank is no more.  The structure on Hickok Avenue in Bethel, which hasn't been used in decades because of an engineering and design flaw, was dismantled last week.  First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker says contractors were removing the last pieces of steal that comprised the subfloor of the tank, basically holding it in place.

(Photo Courtesy: Matt Knickerbocker, Twitter)

Knickerbocker says it could take another week to regrade the lot and remove pipes that might be sticking up from the ground that went into the electrical pumps and monitoring system.  He expects no remnants of the rusted tank in about a week.

Knickerbocker says the work went faster than he expected.  Three to four weeks was allocated, but the tank was largely gone in three days.

Hickok tank demolition, day 4

The town-owned land will be allowed to return to a natural meadow.

That nearly 13 acre property is a steep and environmentally sensitive piece of land that Knickerbocker says the town wanted to save from development.  Now that the tank is gone, a nearby property purchased last spring could be turned into an area for passive recreation.

Clearing out the steel scraps