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The First Water Reservoir in Moshav Herut

Year of Construction: 1931
Location: Moshav Herut
Construction Materials: Reinforced concrete
Dimensions: Diameter – 17 meters; Height – 6 meters + 1-meter guardrail with embrasures

The first water reservoir in Moshav Herut was constructed to supply drinking water to homes and provide irrigation for agriculture. Remarkably, it remains in use to this day. In its early years, the structure also served as a lookout post.

When the first settlers arrived and lived communally in a shared barracks known as “the camp,” they fetched water from a well in Tel Mond. As tree planting began and families moved to permanent plots, new wells were drilled and this reservoir—holding approximately 1,000 cubic meters—was constructed to ensure a constant water supply for both residents and the developing livestock sector.

Strategically located atop a hill on the outskirts of the village, the water tower used gravity to distribute water to homes situated at lower elevations. Its placement also served a defensive purpose: the moshav’s perimeter fence ran along the base of the tower, beyond which lay the road used by residents of the neighboring Arab village of Tira to access their lands in the Wadi Poleg area (locally known as “al-Faliq”). Given the often-tense relations with the neighbors, the tower was built with defensive features, including loopholes for firing and a raised platform for a searchlight to illuminate the area at night.

A Morse code signaling station was installed atop thetower, enabling nighttime communication with nearby moshavim. Daytime signaling was conducted using flags or a heliograph (sunlight reflection device). A wide-diameter metal pipe affixed to the structure was used as an alarm bell—struck in emergencies such as fire or attack to alert the community.

To this day, the water tower continues to serve the moshav’s water supply system.