Pair of old, corroded water tanks near KU up for replacement

photo by: Nick Gerik

Two water tanks at 1220 Oread Avenue, near the north end of Kansas University's campus, are seen in this photo from March 20, 2016.

A pair of severely corroding water tanks near Kansas University’s campus — dubbed “Ike” and “Hoover” because of their age — will soon be replaced.

The city has submitted site plans for, and is currently designing, two new water tanks and a pump station at 1220 Oread Avenue, where the old tanks now sit. The replacement, projected to cost $5 million, will go to bid this fall.

City officials started talking years ago about the need to replace the tanks, one of which was built in 1931 — in President Herbert Hoover’s administration — and the other in 1954 — when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president.

The tanks serve the central part of Lawrence and currently hold 2.3 million gallons of water. Philip Ciesielski, the city’s assistant director of utilities, said in an email that “the existing infrastructure has reached the end of its useful life.”

“The Oread tanks exhibit severe corrosion, failed interior and exterior coatings, failed structural members and inadequate vents, manways and roof access,” Ciesielski said.

He went on to say the tanks do not meet current safety, design or operations standards.

In talks on the tanks’ replacement in 2014, KU officials asked the city whether the new ones could be built elsewhere. Currently, they sit between the Adams Alumni Center and the Ecumenical Campus Ministries building just to the north of KU’s campus.

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The city and KU Endowment worked together for more than a year to find a new place for the pair of tanks, Ciesielski said, but chose to build them in the same area after evaluating 12 different sites.

“The evaluation concluded that, based on project costs, existing water transmission and distribution piping, and operational needs, the current location along Oread Avenue is the best location,” he said.

The project is likely to be complete in August 2018. Over the nearly two years of work, the city will close the 1200 block of Louisiana Street in phases to install new water mains and a storm sewer.

A sidewalk and retaining wall are also part of the project; they’ll be built along the east side of the site, closest to Louisiana Street.

While the new tanks on Oread Avenue are under construction, the city will work on infrastructure supporting another water tower, off Kasold Drive.

With that project, the city will replace a belowground pump station at 1820 Kasold Drive and construct a new building to house electrical and control equipment. The existing pump station, like the Oread Avenue site, is past due for replacement, Ciesielski said.

The Kasold project will go to bid this June and is scheduled for completion in April 2017. It’s estimated to cost approximately $760,000.

Traffic control measures will temporary be in place on Kasold Drive when workers construct a second entrance to the station.

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