One of the oldest water towers in Fairfield will be fully rehabilitated for the first time in nearly 30 years.
The 500,000-gallon water tank on Seward Road is one of five drinking water storage tanks in the city, and older of the two towers in the city’s so-called “Seward pressure zone” located on the east side of the city, which is home to the majority of the city’s industrial and commercial businesses.
Public Utilities Director Adam Sackenheim said that tank is “a critical component of the water distribution system.”
Bids for the rehabilitation work on the water tower were received in November with seven companies bidding for the job. All seven were below the city’s engineer estimate at $595,000, but Sackenheim said Clearcreek Coatings in New Carlisle submitted the lowest and best bid, which was opened this past November.
The rehabilitation work includes it being cleaned, repaired, primed and painted inside and out.
The bid for the rehab work was for $474,800, but City Council authorized $495,000 which includes contingency funding.
The 500,000-gallon water tower, which is next to a recently rehabilitated 1.5 million-gallon tower, was constructed in the late 1960s and last fully rehabilitated in 1996. Sackenheim said the existing coating systems are beginning to fail.
“The project will recoat the steel tank both inside and out, protecting water quality and the structural integrity of the tank for decades.”
To inspect the work, the city will also contract with Dixon Engineering. Sackenheim said this third-party technical inspection will “ensure the integrity of the rehabilitation work.”
Dixon Engineering, a firm that specializes in water tower coating systems, has inspected all of Fairfield’s water tower projects for at least the past seven years.
The city will pay Dixon Engineering, of Medina, $64,250 for its services, and Sackenheim said rehabilitation work is expected to start this spring.
So far the city has rehabilitated three water towers in recent years, and the smaller Seward Road tower will be Fairfield’s fourth to be rehabilitated. The Harbin Park water tower could be rehabilitated within two or three years depending on its condition.
Fairfield has plans to construct a sixth water storage tank on Port Union Road due to the city’s growing industrial and commercial base.
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