By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Brad Marquardt, city Public Works Director, told the Banner that the new water tower was brought online the week of October 17. All three towers are currently running while the staff checks the systems out. “So far everything does appear to be running smoothly,” Marquardt reported. “Yesterday [October 31] we took the Starin Park Tower offline while LSP was pumping to check for any issues and all appeared to be good.” LSP Whitewater, located at 111 Co Rd U, is a cogeneration plant which uses substantial quantities of water.

Though the Starin Park tower will be taken offline sometime in December, the fate of the tower itself is unknown, as a structural analysis is currently being performed. That tower, which has provided water for city residents since 1889, will be taken offline sometime in December. Concern about the tower’s physical condition arose from a report by Cornerstone Restoration, to the Common Council on August 2. Cornerstone reported the tower’s limestone and mortar have failed substantially, and in their opinion, would require an estimated one million dollars of masonry restoration to keep the tower standing. Approximately $200,000 would be needed to take down the tower and remove it, per the company. The tower is designated as a local landmark, and the city Landmarks Commission was directed by the Common Council to research restoration costs and potential funding sources to rehabilitate the tower. In response, the Commission asked the Council to first secure a professional structural analysis to determine if the water tower can be saved. Per Marquardt, a draft report is due by December 1, with a final report by the end of the year.

The city water system is also served by a ground reservoir located adjacent to the water works building at Starin and Fremont. That reservoir, having been deemed in need of major rehabilitation, will also be taken out of service, although Marquardt indicated that it “will remain online longer as that is a bit more complicated to take offline.”