Fort Frances refills its water tower

Water is again flowing to the water tower in Fort Frances.

The tower was emptied last summer to allow crews to make improvements, including recoating the tank.

With the help of a ceremonial golden key that turned the water on when the tower went into commission in 1984, Mayor Andrew Hallikas and town employee Bryan Patterson turned a valve that allowed water back into the tank for the first time in six months.

Hallikas says the project was completed on time and on budget, and service was not lost to residents.

“While the water tower itself was offline throughout the summer, our residents never once lost access to water,” says Hallikas.

“Every time someone turned on a tap, water was there on demand, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And that is no small feat. Without the tower, our system relies entirely on pumps operating continuously to maintain pressure.”

Hallikas credits staff for ensuring the water system ran smoothly.

The work on the tower that started in June, with scaffolding being erected around it, included sandblasting on the inside and outside of the tank.

Some structural repairs were also made, as was the replacement of other key components, before the tank was recoated and repainted.

Operations and Facilities Manager Travis Road says similar work was done in 2005.

“It was just a recoat over the original layer,” says Rob.

“Because of that, we had to go all the way back to bare metal because we couldn’t coat on top of it again. We had to take it all the way back. Plus, there were some other things inside that we had to do in terms of repairs that would require us to break through all of those existing layers down to bare metal anyway. Even if we were to do those repairs and try to patch it, it was going to be a huge undertaking.”

New graphics were added to the tank’s exterior, displaying Li’l Amik, the town’s mascot, which was brought back for promotional uses early last year.

“Proudly providing a little bit of whimsy,” says Hallikas.

“The new design truly pops visually, and has already become a point of pride and excitement for residents. It’s a reminder that our infrastructure can be both functional and a symbol of community identity.”

Rob says crews are still in the process of returning communication equipment that had to be moved and mounted elsewhere.

He expects the scaffolding to be fully removed by the end of the month.

The tank holds about one million gallons of water.