If you have passed by East 12th Avenue, or any adjacent roadways really, you have no doubt noticed the new design on the 12th Avenue Water Tower storage tank.
The new paint job, promoting Emporia State University, came as part of what has been a major interior renovation of the water tower over the past two months. City Manager Trey Cocking gave a full rundown of the interior work during an appearance on KVOE’s Morning Show Wednesday.
With the interior and exterior work now complete, Cocking says the city is now in the midst of the refill process for the tank. As part of the process, samples of the tank’s water will have to be sent off for testing to ensure there is no contamination before the water is added to the city’s supply.
Cocking is hopeful the testing and refill process could be complete by the end of the week, at which time the tower will be brought back online. During the most recent installment of KVOE’s Q&A with Trey last month, Cocking noted there is a possibility the city’s water system could see isolated water main breaks similar to what occurred when the tower went offline back in September.
That being said, Cocking does not believe any breaks that do occur will do so with the same frequency as in September. Additionally, Cocking says once the tower is back online the city will likely conclude its water watch which has been in place since late September.
