COLLEGE STATION. , Texas (KBTX) – The time has arrived.

The city of College Station’s contractor plans on hoisting the new water tower’s bowl into place on Friday. The work is expected to begin around 7:30 a.m. or 8 a.m.

Reminders from the city:

• People should avoid trying to access the site. The city recommends viewing and documenting from a distance for everyone’s safety.
• This is not designed to be a spectator event, as the entire process could take up to eight hours.

More information from the City of College Station:

College Station’s third water tower — located off Earl Rudder Freeway South near Baylor Scott & White Medical Center — is nearing completion.

As exterior paint work and application of lettering continues, crews are preparing for the lengthy process of hoisting the water tower’s bowl into place. The tower will read, “Welcome to College Station. The Heart of Aggieland®,” and also will bear the logo of Visit College Station, the city’s tourism division.

While the exact date of the bowl-raising hasn’t been determined, it’s expected to occur within the next two weeks, weather permitting.

Adding a new water tower to the skyline has been the source of excitement for many in the community, but the big day will not amount to a spectator event, according to Project Manager Casey Rhodes.

“For safety reasons, no one will be allowed near the construction site, so we’re asking that anyone interested in catching a glimpse do so from a very safe distance,” Rhodes said. “And it also won’t make for a very fun watch party since the process of lifting the bowl into place could take up to eight hours.”

The new tower, also known as an elevated storage tank, will hold three million gallons of water and will primarily serve homes and businesses to its east and south. The color of the tank might be described as tan, but Rhodes says the official color is actually known as “bagel” — the exact color of Texas A&M University’s iconic water tower.

About College Station’s water towers

The city’s existing water towers are at Greens Prairie Road (2M gallons) and at Park Place (3M gallons). The new water tower near Rock Prairie Road has been constructed in similar fashion to the one at Park Place.

Water towers are primarily used to pressurize the larger public water system and provide a large storage volume for firefighting or temporary power outages. The new water tower is designed to serve an area of College Station that is much lower in ground elevation, which can result in undesirably high water pressures during peak hours. The new water tower is constructed on ground that’s approximately 30 feet lower than the other two towers, which will allow for more ideal pressure for College Station Utilities customers as soon as spring 2022.

Written by Rusty Surette