Water Tower Coming Down
      Fall '98

            When these fellows were asked how high up the ‘Corporate Ladder’ they wanted to go, this is not what they had in mind.

            Great Lakes Tank & Steel Inc. from Fremont, Ohio was awarded the job of taking down our oldest of 3 water towers in town. This one was on E. Warren St. near the now, Bucyrus Jr. High School. The company owners Bill Viton and Richard Wasserman have sent their best people down to do the dirty work, Ed Spriggs, Ron Cadwallader and Jerome (Jerry) Brooks.

            Ed has been involved with this type of work for 26 yrs., Ron has been into the same for about 20 yrs. Jerry, the youngest, for about 4 ½ yrs. This is a large proj­ect but by no means is it their largest or most difficult. The largest tower they’ve taken down was 269’ high in New York. That was one of Ron’s first jobs. You might say he found out real quick, if heights bothered him! Their last job was in Shire Port Mississippi. That is where the Hurricane (Georges) came in at.

          These guys are at the site around dawn, getting ready for their day of work. They might not go up on top right away because of the dew on the metal. After the sun is out for a little while they can do more work above. Sometimes the day gets cut short because of the weather. The wind up on top is about 10-15 mph faster than on the ground. Being sure of your footing is crucial. These men don’t take unnecessary chances when it comes to safety. Harnesses and ropes are always used. Keeping track of each other and what each is doing all the time is always on their minds.

            How a tank is put together sometimes tells about how old it is. Older tanks are held together with rivets. Each tank or tower seems to be a different challenge. Houses that are close to the bot­tom sometimes cause changes to or can dictate what their possi­bilities will be, such as maintenance, painting or to take down the tank or tower. All these factor into the cost of each job. Along with what you do with the scrap.

            This tower is costing   about $36,000 to take down. This  tower was originally built in 1947. It is 100’ high to the catwalk; the tank is about 70’ across and holds 500,000 gallons of water. Eight 4’ diameter legs support it and the fill line to the tank is 6’ in diameter. As a rule of thumb, for every 2’ in height we get about 1 pound of pressure.

            Even though this one is coming down, we still have 2 other water towers in town. They each hold the same amount of water that this one held. A decision has not been made yet by City Council, if we are going to replace this tower, and if we do, when and where it would be located