by James Coulter
The City of Lake Wales plans on spending $92,583 for the proposed exterior painting and renovations for the Market Street Elevated Storage Tower in the downtown area.
At their regular meeting last Monday, Lake Wales City Commissioners voted unanimously to pay American Tank Maintenance $92,583 for the painting and renovation of the exterior of the water tower at the Market Street Water Treatment Facility, located at 25 First Avenue in Lake Wales.
Aside from a new paint job, the water tower will also receive additional renovations, which include replacing an anchor bolt and three ladder rungs, and washing and disinfecting the tank, according to a memo by American Tank Maintenance.
The City of Lake Wales had entered into a five-year contract with American Tank Maintenance in Dec. 2023 “to perform the required inspections, renovations, and washouts of the elevated storage towers.”
The city was prompted to move forward with these proposed renovations and the exterior paint job due to regulations regarding the maintenance of water storage tanks, as required by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) in 2003.
“These regulations require annual inspection of the tanks to [ensure] protection of the water source from contamination and identify any structural problems that may need repair,” the city staff memo stated. “The regulations also require that, at least once every five years, the tanks be cleaned on the inside and outside and that all work on the tanks be performed by a contractor under the responsible charge of a professional engineer licensed by the State of Florida.”
Editors Note: The process of painting is rather long and can be very dangerous. It’s not a single stage process, they start by preparing the surface, then primer and then from coating the central tower and then proceed to support beams and further to outer support columns. The top of the tank is the last one to be coated.
