PARIS – For the first time since it was built around 1975, the water tower on Paris Hill will be renovated to prevent leaks from springing and rivets from loosening, utility officials said. Work on the tower will begin by Monday.
A couple of years ago, people started noticing rust on the outside of the tower, indicating it was time to repair the 200,000-gallon tank. The tower provides water pressure for Paris Hill residents and also serves as a reservoir.
Steven Arnold, manager of Paris Utility District, said, “With periodic inspections, you start noticing signs to come.” The current condition is not bad now, but if left alone would steadily worsen. With maintenance, the tower is made to stand for 100 years, he said.
Limerick Steeplejacks submitted the lowest bid at $112,000 to complete the job, which requires sandblasting and welding smooth the interior and exterior surfaces. The 100-foot tower will also be painted.
The Utility District is predicting a slight water fee increase next year for those on the town’s water system. More than 1,000 people pay $115 a year for water service, according to Peter Bickford, chairman of Paris Utility District Board of Trustees.
Bickford said this will be the first time the fee has increased since 1996, adding that operating costs were rising anyway, and a fee hike was imminent even without the town on the tower. The immediate cost of repairing the tower will be covered by a bond from the Maine Rural Development Council.
Arnold said he is not sure what the rate increase will be because it is set by the Maine Public Utilities Commission and based partially on Paris customers’ mean household income.
Utility officials said no household on Paris Hill should notice any change in water pressure or availability, because pumps will be running water up from the Utility District office. The interior refurbishment requires draining the tank, and will take one to two weeks to complete, according to Limerick Steeplejack’s president, Deborah Sanborn. Once the inside is finished, the tank will be refilled.
In case of a fire, local fire departments have plotted with Arnold to close Paris Hill Road down and shuttle water from the utility office. Normally, trucks would douse flames with water and pressure supplied by the tower, Bickford said.
Bickford warned that Paris Hill residents might be bothered by the noise, which will come mostly from a machine that sucks away moisture and also prevents paint chips from polluting the environment.
“The noise is going to come from the equipment that generates the negative atmosphere machine, which is a super huge vacuum cleaner,” said Bickford, who lives within a mile of the tower.
The project is expected to continue for four to six weeks depending on weather. The machines will be used only between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Jamie Redlon, who lives in the shadow of the tower, said she’s unconcerned about the potential racket – even with three horses in her barn. Instead, she is more interested in seeing the tower painted a prettier color. Now, it’s an ashen green.
“I was hoping it wasn’t going to be the same color,” she said, talking decorating with Bickford, who popped into her home for a visit on Tuesday. “It looks like a primer. It’s so homely.”
She recommended a dark, glossy “John Deere” green, or a dark navy.
Bickford said he has heard the tower could be painted powder blue.
“It’ll just disappear on days like today,” he said.
“Anything that will blend,” Redlon said, “That blue doesn’t sound so bad.”
If people have water interruptions, they are to call the utility office at 743-6251 or the sheriff’s office at 743-9554.
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