Springing a leak: WSU water tower under repairs
February 13, 2014
A leak in the Charlie Brown water tower is expected to be repaired soon.
Kevin Gardes, the director of public works, said one steel water tank rusted to the point where it dispensed small amounts of water. The spot of the leak was found underneath the tank.
“We’ve drained the tank in that system so there’s no issues,” he said.
Gardes said the water tower is utilizing another tank to take place of the damaged chamber.
“We’re having a contractor come who’s got around 30, 40 years of experience with water tanks,” he said. “They’re going to look inside, do an inspection, and then we’ll cut in the bad spot-weld in a new piece of steel plate.”
The Charlie Brown water tower was built in 1947. Gardes said multiple repairs have been made such as paint jobs since the water tower’s inception. The decline of the water tower system is one component to why the leak occurred, Gardes said.
“If the coating isn’t just right, sometimes we will get a little bit of rust and metal degradation over time,” he said.
Pullman residents were not impacted by the seepage.
“It was a drip but something we want to get taken care,” he said.