OKLAHOMA CITY – Roosevelt’s downtown “Bronco” water tower has received a new “hat”.
With the aid of a stout crane, Trumble Construction of Texarkana, Texas, hoisted a pre-fabricated steel cap to the top of the 140-foot-tall water tower on Sept. 4 and welded it into place. The cap arrived in two pieces on Sept. 2, and the halves were welded together while on the ground.
Afterward, the underneath side and the top of the cap received a coat of primer and a double coat of paint prior to installation, Mayor Nolan McCall said. The aged, deteriorated cap, which was attached to the tank by rusty bolts, was removed on Sept. 3.
The 70,000-gallon Bronco water tower was drained in preparation for replacement of the roof; afterward, the tank was refilled in the early hours of Sept. 5 and the water was chlorinated. However, the tank was not immediately returned to service because water quality tests had to first be performed, McCall explained.
Replacement of the water tower’s cap cost approximately $85,000, the mayor said. That included Trumble’s $64,770 contract price; a little over $12,000 for preparation of plans and specifications for the job by Infrastructure Solutions Group, the project engineers; and $7,860 for transportation of the crane to Roosevelt, McCall said.
The project cost was financed from a $79,999 Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP) grant the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) approved on Jan. 21, coupled with more than $6,000 in local funds the Town of Roosevelt had in reserve, McCall said.
The REAP grant initially was to be used to clean, sandblast and paint the 70-yearold water tower and to make improvements to its water storage tank.
However, when the tank was inspected with cameras it was discovered that rivets in the top of the aged tank were loose, McCall said. Consequently, the project was amended to repairing the roof of the tank; the change-of-scope request was approved by the OWRB on May 19.
After the tank was drained in preparation for repairing its cap, Trumble crews discovered on July 31 that the damage was too extensive to fix. The old steel roof was too thin and was riddled with holes, McCall said.
Professional Engineer Dale Burke of McAlester, with Infrastructure Solutions Group, informed the OWRB that the contractor determined the roof was in worse shape than was originally thought, and that rather than rehabilitation the roof needed to be replaced. Jerri Hargis, projects and operations manager in the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, advised Burke that replacing rather than repairing the roof “was still within the scope of the project…”
The South Western Oklahoma Development Authority (SWODA) previously awarded a $45,000 REAP grant to finance several repairs to the Bronco water tower in order to comply with requirements of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, McCall said.
Rails around the tank were replaced, new ladders were installed because the rungs were breaking, and safety equipment was added to ensure that workers won’t fall if they lose their footing while climbing the ladders. In addition, old antennas no longer in use were removed from the top of the tank, McCall said.
Those renovations were performed by Pi ttsburg Tank and Tower Group (PTTG) of Henderson, Ky., the mayor said.
The interior of the Bronco tank will be sandblasted to remove mineral deposits and rust, and the exterior will be sandblasted and repainted, “just as soon as I can get another grant,” the retired Army veteran said in June.
The town’s other water storage tank, an elevated standpipe at Cold Springs three miles south of Roosevelt near Tom Steed Reservoir, was renovated two or three years ago, the mayor recalled.
The tank was sandblasted, its filter was changed out, sediment was scraped off the interior of the tank, holes in the roof were patched and the tank was repainted, he said. The repairs were performed by PTTG and were f inanced with a $44,995 REAP grant from SWODA, McCall said.
Water to Roosevelt never was rationed during the Bronco tower repair project because the Cold Springs tank had sufficient capacity to meet demand, McCall said.
Roosevelt is a Kiowa County community of 230 residents, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimate.