Fairhope, Alabama
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| Tank #2 |
ACROSS FROM WALMART
The city's 3 million gallon hydro-pillar water tank #2 on Fairhope Avenue across from Walmart is scheduled to be drained for maintenance beginning in mid-January.
Sandblasting and painting the entire metal structure inside and out should take about 4 months and be completed in late April.
The smaller 300K gallon elevated-leg tank #3 on River Park Road (CR 33) five miles southeast of town is to be re-painted as well; this one has been empty for some time due to its poor condition.
G + L Sandblasting + Coatings Llc. of Shelbyville, TN. was the low bidder for the project at $1.8 million for both tanks.
There were some additional engineering costs as well.
NO SHORTAGES EXPECTED
When asked about it by a Times reporter, mayor Sullivan said that since Winter is the low-demand time of year (only 6 million gallons per day), no water shortfalls are anticipated. The city's total water production capacity is now 10 million gpd with two new wells (13, 14) anticipated to be online by Summer -- bringing that up to13 million gpd, she said.
PREVIOUS PROBLEMS NOT ANTICIPATED
When tank #1 about a mile west on Fairhope Avenue was painted by a different company in 2018, the contractor found it hard to find qualified employees during the covid-19 pandemic and fell way behind schedule, taking almost a year to complete it.
Sullivan said they were aware of that situation and appropriate precautions are being taken now.
Water tanks need to be re-painted about every 15 years, to prevent corrosion. Elevated tanks store water -- and help maintain system pressure.
TEMPORARY ANTENNAS TO BE USED?
The mayor said communications companies with antennas on top of tank #2 have been asked to install temporary ones to maintain service in the area.
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| Tank #3. |
Comments
When the growth continues but the infrastructure and services lag behind, no wonder many of us are “grumpy.”
Merry Christmas and thank you Times for consistent excellent reporting.