Thornbury water tower to get a new look

The water tower in Thornbury will be getting a new look.

At its committee of the whole meeting on Nov. 1, The Blue Mountains council approved a staff report to seek bids from contractors interested in repainting the water tower on Victoria Street.

The water tower will soon undergo extensive rehabilitation work designed to extend its lifespan for another 18-25 years. The work includes: complete exterior and interior media blasting, exterior and interior steel repairs, interior lining upgrades and exterior coating upgrades. The project was approved in the 2022 budget.

The water tower was built in 1977 and was last re-coated in the early to mid-1980s, according to the staff report. 

As part of the work, the exterior of the water tower will have to be repainted. At the meeting, staff presented council with a number of options for designs.

Solid colour designs (the lowest cost option between $300,000 and $315,000 not including text) suggested were white, green, or blue paint for the water tower. A colour block option was also suggested with blue or green for the top and bottom of the tower and a white band through the middle where the city names would be printed. Adding a colour block would bump the cost up to about $340,000. 

Finally, and most costly, would be a detailed design to depict leaves, water, and rolling hills at about $370,000 to $400,000 plus the cost of adding text. 

“It is a landmark in the community,” said Jason Petznick, communications coordinator for capital projects.

The alternatives presented by staff ranged from simply repainting the tower in white, blue or green or more elaborate artistic designs. All the examples suggested by municipal staff can be viewed in the staff presentation on the project.

The work will include the words “Thornbury” and “The Blue Mountains” lettering on the tank portion of the water tower. The painting is estimated to cost between $300,000 to $400,000 depending on the design the town chooses, plus a further $25,000 for the town names.

Council was supportive of the concepts, but chose not to make a decision on a specific design preferring to let the incoming council make that decision. Instead council voted 4-0 (Mayor Alar Soever and Deputy Mayor Peter Bordignon were absent) in favour of directing staff to proceed with the bid request including all of the potential paint options, with the final design choice to be made once more information is available.

Staff anticipate construction starting March 2023, with the tender ready for release in January 2023.