For Hub City Times

MARSHFIELD — The Marshfield Utilities painting project of the Grant Park water tower is now complete, and Marshfield Utilities projects to start filling the 500,000-gallon tower again this week. The goal was to have the painting project finished by July 1, but the weather played a major role in the contractor’s inability to complete the work on schedule.

“Water towers need to be painted on a regular schedule to maintain the integrity of the tank,” said Dave Wasserburger, Marshfield Utilities water superintendent. “Not only does it vastly extend the life of a tower, it also improves the appearance. Depending on the natural elements that a tower is subjected to, it could completely rust out over a span of several years, so regular upkeep is extremely important.”

Located near Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital and Marshfield Clinic at the intersection of West Doege Street and West Cleveland Street, the Grant Park tower was constructed in 1990. This is the first time this water tower has been repainted. Due to the proximity to houses and the street traffic, shrouding was used during sand blasting and painting to ensure no overspray. Marshfield Utilities wanted to minimize the impact on the community and received no customer complaints during the project.

“This was quite an intricate project,” Wasserburger added. “The nearly $450,000 cost to paint the tower inside and out keeps the tower looking nice, but more importantly it ensures the tower will still be in good shape in the decades to come to ensure that we continue to provide good quality water to our customers.”