Ludowici is near bringing an old water tower back in service, and that will increase capacity by 50 percent.
The downtown tower, known as Tower 1, is 33 years old and has been going through a refurbishing project that began in 2007.
“We only had one working water tower, and that was the one at the industrial site. And so we really needed to get this one working again,” Ludowici Water Superintendent James Fuller said.
He said the tower holds 100,000 gallons. The tower off of Highway 84 is a 200,000-gallon tower.
Fuller said the 300,000 gallon capacity is gravity fed, so its always available.
The superintendent also said prior to the downtown tower being refurbished, the city could only furnish 540,000 gallons a day. With the other working, the city’s maximum output is 900,000 gallons a day.
“When we first started looking at getting the tower repaired, we had big concerns, because there was talk of more military troops coming into the area, and more people moving into Ludowici. We knew as the houses and such increased, we would need more water,” Fuller said.
According to the superintendent, the tower not only looks new from being painted, but it is practically “new,” with the electronics being replaced, the fluoride and chlorine systems being replaced and the inside cleaned.
The electronics are used to pump water up into the holding tank.
“It pulls the water up, and then the fluoride and chlorine is put in the water. After this it goes back down and gets to people’s homes. In a nutshell, it is a pump and filtration system.”
According to Fuller, refurbishing the tower cost more than $300,000. The majority of the money was from a community development block grant.
“Fortunately we got a grant to cover most of the cost, but we also had to put some money into the project.”
According to information provided by the city, its portion will be $34,500, which will be paid over a period of time.
Fuller said that the tower is about 95 percent completed and should be finished sometime in July.
The downtown tower, known as Tower 1, is 33 years old and has been going through a refurbishing project that began in 2007.
“We only had one working water tower, and that was the one at the industrial site. And so we really needed to get this one working again,” Ludowici Water Superintendent James Fuller said.
He said the tower holds 100,000 gallons. The tower off of Highway 84 is a 200,000-gallon tower.
Fuller said the 300,000 gallon capacity is gravity fed, so its always available.
The superintendent also said prior to the downtown tower being refurbished, the city could only furnish 540,000 gallons a day. With the other working, the city’s maximum output is 900,000 gallons a day.
“When we first started looking at getting the tower repaired, we had big concerns, because there was talk of more military troops coming into the area, and more people moving into Ludowici. We knew as the houses and such increased, we would need more water,” Fuller said.
According to the superintendent, the tower not only looks new from being painted, but it is practically “new,” with the electronics being replaced, the fluoride and chlorine systems being replaced and the inside cleaned.
The electronics are used to pump water up into the holding tank.
“It pulls the water up, and then the fluoride and chlorine is put in the water. After this it goes back down and gets to people’s homes. In a nutshell, it is a pump and filtration system.”
According to Fuller, refurbishing the tower cost more than $300,000. The majority of the money was from a community development block grant.
“Fortunately we got a grant to cover most of the cost, but we also had to put some money into the project.”
According to information provided by the city, its portion will be $34,500, which will be paid over a period of time.
Fuller said that the tower is about 95 percent completed and should be finished sometime in July.