News

Doland, SD New Water Tower

May 23rd, 2013
Needed upgrades to the Doland drinking water system have led to the loss of the town's historic water tower.

Doland's original water tower was built in 1917, but was badly rusted and needed to be replaced, said Kam DesLauriers, the town's finance officer. The prospect of repairing the old tower was discussed, but it was coated in lead-based paint, complicating the task, she said. To sand blast and paint the old tower would have cost about $275,000, DesLauriers said. It just didn't make sense to spend that much money on a water tower thats nearly a century old, she said.

Construction of the new tower is done, but some painting work remains. The tower and a new water storage system cost $759,735. The tower itself cost $320,000 and was erected by Maguire Iron, DesLauriers said. The old tower cost less than $5,000.

The old tower has already been taken down, and WEB Water is providing extra pressure for the Doland drinking water system for the time being, said Terry Helms of Helms & Associates, the engineering firm helping with the project.

The new 50,000-gallon tower is roughly 155 feet tall, which is taller than the old tower, and the extra height will add pressure to the town's water distribution system, she said.

Water lines throughout Doland are also being replaced this summer, DesLauriers said. B&B Contracting is doing that work for $673,304, she said. That job will last the bulk of the summer, she said.

The water distribution project was supposed to be done last year, but, DesLauriers said, that plan hit a snag when the 1917 tower was deemed to be historically significant. The need for a new tower had to be documented by historical officials in Pierre before the old tower could be razed, she said. After a variety of information was gathered about the old tower, permission was granted to tear it down, and Doland was able to move ahead with the project, she said.

To help pay for the work, Doland was awarded a $1.76 million low-interest loan from the South Dakota Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, DesLauriers said.