Kingston’s oldest in-service water tower has endured six decades of heavy snowfall, rain, and everything in-between, which has resulted in a multi-million-dollar makeover.
In 2017, Utilities Kingston completed an engineering condition assessment which included a review of the water tower’s structural elements, current code compliance, foundations and coatings, said Utilities Kingston.
They found that the tower was in good condition and structurally sound, but to protect the steel from corroding, they are removing and replacing the exterior paint which contained lead.
Since erected, the water tower’s exterior was originally silver with “Kingston” painted in black, but Utilities Kingston has decided to paint it white with blue lettering to stay consistent with the other Kingston towers.
Jacques Daoust Coatings Management Inc. was awarded $2.3 million to remove the existing coating via sandblasting, and to apply a new coating, said Jim Keech, CEO and president of Utilities Kingston.
The project is expected to take five months and Utilities Kingston has set a completion goal of early 2019.