Construction Underway on New $2.85 Million Mandeville Water Tower
Construction is underway on a new water tower on the eastern edge of Mandeville that should improve water pressure in parts of the city. The new 750,000-gallon, single pedestal tower is being built on Rapatel Street off U.S. 190 near Fontainebleau State Park.
Although the structure has not yet risen from the ground, the site has been cleared and workers are currently installing large water lines along nearby Montgomery Street. The city’s $2.85 million contract with a Kentucky company to build the tower includes moving the water lines and other parts of the water distribution system that will connect to the new tower.
Mandeville Public Works Director David deGeneres said the actual structure should begin to take shape sometime in October. The tower should be completely erected and substantially built in June of 2015 and the contractor should have punch list items completed by August of next year, he said.
Caldwell Tanks, Inc., the lone bidder on the project, got the construction job in April when the City Council authorized Mayor Donald Villere to sign a contract with the company. The tower was designed under a separate $211,306 contract with Richard C. Lambert Consultants, LLC.
The city’s water system consists of five underground wells and a 750,000-gallon water tower on St. Ann Street in the central part of the city. Another outdated water tower on Monroe Street has been decommissioned. The city leases it to communications companies for cell phone antennas.
The new tower is designed to improve water pressure, especially for firefighting, facilitate any expansion of the Mandeville water system and allow the city to shut down the St. Ann tower for maintenance, officials have said.
The new tower, which will be paid for primarily with state money, will be about 6 feet taller than the one on St. Ann Street, officials said.
The Louisville-based Caldwell Tanks, which built the city’s water tower on St. Ann Street about a decade ago, is one of the few companies in the U.S. that builds large, high rise water tanks, city officials have said.
The company has been building water tanks since 1887, according to its website.
** Source: Written by Kim Chatelain, NOLA.com/ The Times-Picayune
