Wea Township water tower seen as boon for area growth
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Wea Township took one step closer to a constructing a tower that will provide millions of gallons of water.
Local elected officials and community members recently took part in the groundbreaking for a new water tower that will be erected in Wea Township next to Wea Ridge Elementary School.
This new water tower will hold 2 million gallons and is estimated to cost $5.6 million. Construction will begin Monday and is projected to be substantially completed in May 2023.
"A new water tower (aligns) with the current growth and projected continued growth," Steve Moore, superintendent for the Lafayette waterworks department, said. "We need the additional storage of water so this will give us an additional 2 million gallons of storage and it'll always assure that we have the proper operating pressure for the residents and the businesses to maintain those pressures."
An additional water tower can also help in the event of a disaster situation, Moore said.
"And it'll also help us in a catastrophic situation," Moore said, "if we were to have a large fire or anything. And if they're really pulling a lot of water from our system, it won't compromise the pressure for the homes and the businesses in the area. It'll ensure that they'll always have adequate pressure regardless of the emergency."
The tower's location, next to Wea Ridge Elementary School, was seen as convenient for multiple reasons, according to the project's engineers.
"I think this was just kind of the sweet spot," Moore said, "because we had our engineering firms do some hydraulic modeling and they identified the areas where we may have compromised pressures in cases of large or unexpected flows. And this was kind of the target area. So we found this available property, negotiated a price, purchased the property, and then that's really what got the ball rolling."
Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski further explained the upcoming tower's benefits to the community now and in the future.
"As we look at the ability to continue to grow (in Lafayette)," Roswarski said, "you have to make sure that you have ample water supply and ample pressure. So this will put 2 million gallons in the air which helps with water pressure and it also helps with water reserves.
"...It's gonna help Lafayette and all these subdivisions to the south here that are actually in Tippecanoe County and new ones that they may want to build..."
Margaret Christopherson is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email her at mchristopherson@jconline.com and follow her on Twitter @MargaretJC2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Wea Township water tower seen as boon for area growth
