Emporia’s East 12th Avenue water tower has been in the process of a major rehabilitation project with an updated look next on the schedule.
According to Emporia City Manager Trey Cocking on the latest Q&A with Trey segment Monday, the tower’s interior has been sandblasted with paintwork set to begin on the exterior soon. The new paint job will represent Emporia State University thanks to a collaborative effort between the city and ESU.
Cocking says he is excited about the new look and additional visibility for ESU as the university is a “huge piece of this community.”
The work on the 12th Avenue water tower has not been without its challenges, namely a rash of more than 40 water line breaks that occurred last month when the tower was taken offline. Cocking says this caused an increase in water pressure on the city’s aging water system and eventually leading the various breaks and the city being placed into a water watch.
Fortunately, Cocking says efforts to relieve some of the pressure on the system, namely the flushing of fire hydrants late last month, has helped to stabilize the system. Cocking says the average number of breaks, before last month, was around one every three or so days going back over five years.
After opening the hydrants the city saw a roughly three-week stretch with no breaks up until this past week when a handful were reported, albeit at a much lower frequency. The city’s water watch is expected to remain in place through the end of the month depending on water levels and more importantly customer demand.
Cocking thanked residents and businesses for their recent and continued conservation efforts as the watch continues.
