North Stonington — If things go according to plan, residents who live in and near the village will no longer have to conserve water by the end of the year.

Just two months after the June 23 "catastrophic" pressure tank failure that left about 230 homes and businesses without water service for a time, officials are pointing to December as when the new and improved water system will be fully functional.

The new pump station — the old one was destroyed by the failed pressure tank's blast — will be cement, First Selectman Nick Mullane said Tuesday.

Josh Cansler, general manager of Southeastern CT Water Authority, said the new system will include new technology such as variable speed pumps, which continually adjust based on demand rather than cycling on and off at one speed.

That will eliminate the need for pressure tanks like the one that burst in June.

Cansler said the tank that failed has been examined, but no one has been able to confirm exactly what caused the problem.

"They think it failed at the pressure it was designed for," he said of the people who've looked at the about 30-year-old tank. "They suspect it wasn't built correctly many, many years ago, or that there was corrosion, but they haven't been able to pinpoint either."

Cansler expects the new cement pump station to arrive sometime in November. At that point, he said, it will just be a matter of hooking things up — the building will come with necessary parts already set in place.

The costs associated with replacing the town's water system all fall to the water authority. Cansler said the authority will cover the costs with a combination of insurance and out-of-pocket funds.

Until the new system is ready to go, officials are asking residents to continue to conserve water. The pumps and motors of the temporary system in place have run almost constantly on many occasions, Cansler said, and could eventually burn out.

Affected areas include: the village, the Holly Green plaza and the Kingswood/Meadow Wood neighborhood.

l.boyle@theday.com

Twitter: @LindsayABoyle