Brandon’s water tower ‘in surprisingly good condition’
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/02/2017 (3265 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A structural assessment of Brandon’s historic water tower has resulted in a pleasantly surprising conclusion.
Overall, the aging structure is in pretty decent shape, with no major concerns identified.
“We’ve done maintenance on it that’s for sure, but just after all this time and being outside in those conditions … all in all it’s in surprisingly good condition,” said Patrick Pulak, director of engineering services and water resources.
Stantec Consulting Ltd. conducted the assessment last September at a cost of nearly $15,000. Pulak will present the findings to Brandon City Council on Monday.
“There’s only a couple items that require our attention, but they’re not absolutely critical or intrinsic to the structural stability of the water tower,” Pulak said. “These are all things that we can do internally.”
The water tower, located in Rideau Park, was constructed in 1930 by the Horton Steel and Iron Works of Bridgeburg, Ont., with a 625,000-gallon capacity. It was decommissioned in 2003.
The landmark was scheduled to be demolished in 2012, but after public outcry, Brandon City Council voted to remove it from the demolition list in 2011. A number of citizens, as well as councillors, wore “Save our Tower” stickers to show support.
The tower was featured in an original painting by Brandon artist Weiming Zhao, which graced the front page of The Brandon Sun on Christmas Eve 2014. The painting was later auctioned off to charity as part of Canvas For A Cause.
In 2011, the tower was featured in a national TV commercial for Molson Canadian beer, which was a tribute to hockey played in the frigid Canadian outdoors.
“The tower certainly holds a pretty special place for a lot of folks in town,” said Coun. Glen Parker (Riverview). “It’s a bit of a beacon — if you’ve been travelling, you know you’re home when you see the tower.”
Parker is pleased to see the results of the study, and is supportive of the maintenance recommendations laid out.
“When you consider all the aspects of Rideau Park and the (East End) Community Centre … there’s something there for every season and I think it’s the centrepiece of it all,” Parker said. “So absolutely I would hope they move forward with that.”
The assessment shows the protective coating is intact and in good condition in most areas. There are small, isolated areas of light surface corrosion. A few diagonal braces have developed deformation due to compressive buckling. The vertical overflow pipe has crack spanning almost its entire length and shows signs of internal corrosion.
“Since that water tower is now out of commission, that overflow pipe can be removed and that’s fairly straightforward,” Pulak said.
The assessment recommends including the overflow pipe removal ($15,000) in the 2018 budget.
Within the next year, it is recommended that the city removes protruding anchor bolts, which would cost an estimated $3,000.
Also recommended for the 2018 budget, is the replacement of two diagonal braces ($40,000).
Stantec estimates the current protective paint coating has at least a decade of remaining service life.
“From a coating point of view to help with any of the corrosion, there’s nothing really that we need to do in the short term,” Pulak said. “There’s a few areas that we could patch, but really the coating that’s on there now is actually in great condition.”
A long-term recommendation for the city is to sandblast and re-coat the tower’s interior and exterior in 10-15 years. Estimated cost is $250,000. Pulak said this gives council time to plan for this cost, if that is what they decide to do.
In addition, it is recommended that the water tower be re-inspected every five years, which would cost approximately $15,000 per inspection.
“Ultimately, if the desire is to come forward and designate this as a heritage type structure, then that is a decision to be made by council,” Pulak said. “In the meantime, now that … we’ve determined we’re not in imminent danger, they have that time to make that decision.”
» jaustin@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @jillianaustin