Tipp City’s place for new water tower nears decision

Residents living near the South Hyatt Street location oppose that site. One council member, John Kessler, said he would go with the South Hyatt Street site, while two other council members — Tom Merritt and Matt Owen — were not at the council work session.

The new tower would replace the aging Bowman Avenue water tower that had been slated for demolition once the new water tower was finished near Tippecanoe High School a few years ago.

Concerns by water system consultants about having enough water to fight fires in the low service area without the Bowman Avenue tower or replacement tower led council to take a step back and evaluate whether to build a new tower or renovate the 1930s Bowman Avenue tower.

Eric Mack, deputy director of municipal services, discussed with council three tower options:

• A new 500,000-gallon tower on property off South Hyatt Street near Springhill Nurseries. Estimated cost: $2.4 million

• A new 500,000-gallon tower at the city service center along with a loop water main and increasing size of a line on 7th Street to 12 inches. Estimated cost: $2.6 million

• The existing tower site on Bowman Avenue is a 350,000-gallon tank. Estimated rehab cost: $1 million

After hearing comments on water pressure and water flow for fighting fires, council asked for an opinion from Fire Chief Steve Kessler on the flow of water for firefighters from the two proposed tower sites. “

Water system modeling and other information provided show the Bowman Avenue tower now can provide 1,900 gallons per minute average while the projected gallons per minute for the Hyatt Street site would be more than 800 gallons and the Service Center site, around 300 gallons more per minute.

“Is the extra 500 gallons per minute that big of a difference with safety,” Council President Joe Gibson asked.

The city staff also was asked by resident Steve Staub to see if any information was available on the impact of a water tower on neighborhood’s property values.