ROCHELLE — Work is underway on a City of Rochelle project that will see the large water tower near the Illinois Route 251 overpass repainted and maintenanced, Rochelle Municipal Utilities Superintendent of Water/Water Reclamation Adam Lanning said Sept. 23. 

The project’s cost will exceed $1 million and will include sandblasting and painting of the tower and planned maintenance will include replacing corroded items inside of it and a ladder being installed inside.

“All of the antennas have been moved off the water tower for the cellular companies and our police and fire and the high school and the hospital,” Lanning said. “Steel rods have been installed on the water tower to hold the containment structure in place and the bottom will be anchored to the ground for the curtain to go up. They're waiting on the curtain to show up. Right now they're sandblasting the inside of the water tower. Progress is going well and we're on track to have it done by the middle of November.”

The water tower, built in 1953, is 150 feet tall and holds 500,000 gallons of water. It was last painted around 2000, he said. After it’s maintenanced and painted it will be “in good shape for 30+ years,” Lanning said. 

The tower is vital to maintaining water pressure and capacity in town for homes and in the case of a large fire or water main break. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency requires a certain amount of above-ground water storage. 

Lanning said the work leading up to the project involved making sure taking the tower offline wouldn’t cause any issues with the city’s water system. 

“We ran scenarios of a large fire and a large water main break to make sure we weren't going to have pressure problems in town,” Lanning said. “That all checked out good. We did some work on one of our wells that will help with water pressure. The biggest challenge was getting all of the antennas off without interrupting service to the various entities. We hired a company to help us identify what antennas were up there. Some of them have been up there for a while. We had to get in communication with the cellular companies.”

Along with the water tower, the city’s recent work on its water system has included the building of two wells and two radium removal plants. Another new well will be built next year. City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh praised Lanning and his team for being aggressive on improving water infrastructure. 

Lanning said the tower work is on schedule after being long-term budgeted for 2024 several years ago. The project on the older tower in the center of town has not come without its complications. 

“We built a new water tower in 2017 south of town and that was relatively easy compared to this project,” Lanning said. “This one is in the middle of town and we had to deal with the antennas. I just found out they're going to hand roll the whole tower when they paint it. It won't be sprayed because they're worried about the overspray near the overpass.”

The city recently released the final design plan for the water tower on its social media. The new design mixes the city’s new branding font with the current water tower design’s color and depiction of the Rochelle Township High School Hub logo. The city held a social media poll and solicited resident feedback before the city council decided on the final design. 

“The number-one priority is the structural integrity and the fact that the tower holds 500,000 gallons of potable water,” Fiegenschuh said. “That's what is most important. We also understand that the color and design are important to our community. We wanted to have the community's input. It's such a large piece of infrastructure. When you get to town it's right there. The new look will really add to and help beautify the downtown. I think if you drive through a town and see something like a water tower and it doesn't look good, it says something about the community.”

Fiegenschuh and Lanning said they’re excited to reach the end of the project after encountering logistical issues, and to see the finished project. 

“We're excited to have it finished,” Lanning said. “It's really going to make the community look better, with it being in the middle of town.”