Work on water tower progressing as expected

Work on Sackville's new water tower is on schedule and on budget and is expected to continue the same path throughout the winter months.

"All in all, the project has been going along really well," said the town's public works director George Woodburn last week.

Woodburn said the required transmission lines to the tower have been installed on King Street and Hesler Drive and paving has been completed along those roads as well.

"All the water lines are in, right to the base of the water tower," he said.

Woodburn said the new lines will not only provide a feed to the water tower but has also allowed for more than two dozen property owners in that area of town to hook up to the town's water system. As well, it also provides an opportunity for new developers to service their lots, he said.

The concrete base of the tower has also been installed at the site, just off Hesler Drive.

At about 40 feet in height, the base will support the metal structure that makes up the elevated storage tank.

Throughout the winter months, Woodburn said the contractors will be doing some welding on site to install several sections of the tank.

At a total cost of just over $4 million, the tower will be similar in design to the one in Dieppe and will be a height of about 130 feet, "two-thirds the height of the communication towers" in that same area of town, he said.

Construction of a water tower has been at the top of the town's priority list for nearly a decade amidst concerns over water quality and adequate pressure.

In fact, the town has been well preparing itself for the day that funding would come through for the project.

Woodburn said in its pre-planning stages, the town completed a portion of the required system when it installed the 12-inch line along King Street (from Main Street to just above Kirk Street) during reconstruction work on that road several years ago.

As well, recent work on Crossman Road resulted in an improved distribution loop system that provides greater circulation and better water quality.

"All this helped us when approaching the province. We took it to a shovel-ready project and this made it difficult for them to say no," said Woodburn.

He said the water tower will allow an extra storage capacity of 550,000 gallons, offering the town greater protection in case of major fire in the community.

The project is anticipated to be completed by early next summer.