Water tower rehabilitation in works
June 3, 2014, 1:56 am
Kevin Weedmark
Work is under way on a $140,000 rehabilitation project at Moosomin’s water tower.
The water tower has been used to provide water pressure in Moosomin, but the town is switching to a system in which variable speed pumps provide water pressure and the water tower will be used simply as a second reservoir.
Water is piped to Moosomin from town wells next to Moosomin Lake.
After the water is treated, it goes into a large underground reservoir next to the water treatment plant.
From there it used to be pumped up into the water tower, and gravity provided the water pressure throughout the town.
The variable speed pumps will now provide all the pressure.
The water tower was taken offline on April 28 to be refurbished, and Mayor Larry Tomlinson said the changeover to the pumps went seamlessly.
“The switch went smooth as silk,” Tomlinson said.
The water tower will now be completely refurbished.
It is being sandblasted inside and out, any cracks or imperfections will be welded, and it will be primed and epoxy painted, inside and out.
The town is also replacing all the lighting on the tower, and changing to an LED lighting system.
The water tower will be painted a slightly darker green—closer to a Rider green, the mayor points out, and will be painted with the town logo.
The tower refurbishing project will cost about $140,000, while another $30,000 went into the new pump system.
Refurbishing the water tower is a six-week project, and the crew was a day ahead of schedule as of Friday.
Tomlinson says the switch to a pump system for water pressure should mean long-term cost savings for the town. “Not relying on the gravity for water pressure means all the water doesn’t have to be pumped up the tower, which should mean huge savings,” he said.
The town has also done a lot of work on the water treatment plant, completed a new well next to Moosomin Lake last year, and will refurbish the other one this summer.
“We’ve done a lot of work on the water system and it’s something to be proud of,” Tomlinson said.
He said the water system has the capacity to handle the community’s growth.
