Officials in the town of Hope believe they have saved enough money on the nearly-complete water system improvement project, that they can get work done on the town’s water tower.

J.T. Doane, the town manager, told the Town Council last night that the town is due to have its water tower inspected in 2018. Before then, the town needs to treat the inside of the tank and repaint the tower, inside and out.

But the town has about $331,000 left over from a state revolving loan fund for its water system improvement project that could be put toward the water tower.

The town would have to give back about $70,000 from a state grant that has still gone unspent. The grant money couldn’t be spent for the water tower and to use if for other projects, such as installing water meters, would require spending almost all of the rest of the remaining money to qualify as matching funds.

Strand Associates estimated about a two-month window would be needed to do the work on the water tower, during which the tower would have to be emptied. David Clouse, utilities manager, said that the town would not lose any water pressure while the tower is out of commission because of the high pressure it is now enjoying from its water provider. There could be a problem if large amounts of water were needed for firefighting during the down time, Clouse said.

The nearly $3 million water system improvement project replaced about half of the town’s water lines and is complete except for a few details, the council was told last night.