MONROE — Regardless of which plan aldermen chose of the three presented to them to address the water tower in the 2200 block of 5th Street, commonly called the hospital tower, they were informed by Utilities Supervisor Mike Kennison that water rates would increase for city residents as a result.
That result is partly why they chose the least expensive one, Alderwoman Brooke Bauman said at a council meeting Feb. 4. She said the plan to repaint the system and bring it to code compliance was a positive one to ensure “the least burden to taxpayers.”
Fellow council member Chris Beer agreed.
“I think if it was a failing structure, that would be a different story,” Beer said.
The structure, built in the middle of the last century, can stand for years to come, Kennison said.
“We would have no problems painting this one and have it last 20 to 30 years,” he said. “If we bring it up to code, it’s going to hold water just like a new one would.”
The option was proposed at an estimated cost of nearly $975,000. Work will include repainting the tower with a new coating system which would bring it to compliance with code, which has changed over the decades.
Kennison also said the structure was made of thicker steel than current structures. He noted that the 10 legs with zig-zag bars along the rails of the tower, which hold up the main spherical tank in the middle, are more difficult to paint. Code compliance includes the addition of a ladder system to access the roof hatch and a constraint system.
Another facet of the project would include the consolidation of the two pressure zones the city water operates on. Kennison said the hospital tower is in the low zone, which services the majority of the city. The more modern water tower sitting in the north industrial park operates within the high zone. It only services a narrow band of the city’s north side. Kennison said an altitude valve would need to be installed in the hospital tower. The valve would keep the tower from overflowing, which would happen due to the elevation difference between the two towers.
An estimate from Fehr Graham Engineering & Environmental outlined the removal of a cathodic protection system, sand blasting and painting work, vent and valve replacements, a tank mixing system, foundation repairs and installation of an adjustable manhole cover riser. The altitude valve was not included in the estimate for Option 1, but Kennison said the cost was “insignificant in the grand scheme of things.”
The tower has a capacity of roughly 500,000 gallons and has an estimated interior of 10,000 square feet and an exterior square footage of more than 19,000.
Kennison said the city would pursue funding for the project from the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program through the state Department of Natural Resources and Department of Administration.