Workers tear down a water tank above Castle Rock Medical Center Monday afternoon. The tank was one of two that were planned for demolition by the city.
Residents driving up Uinta Drive this week may have noticed a white water tower on the hill above Castle Rock Medical Center being torn down.
This tank is one of two that the city of Green River is having removed. The second tank is at the end of Knotty Pine Street.
Both of these tanks "have been out of service for over 20 years," according to Mark Westenskow, the city's director of public works.
"These particular tanks were used at a particular time, but they've become obsolete," Westenskow explained. "So they were taken out of service, both from a size perspective and also from the zoning perspective of how the city's water zones were set up."
The tanks, which were built in the 1950s and 1960s, were too small for the population growth in Green River, according to Steve Core, the city's communications administrator. Core and Westenskow said that the tanks are set at too low of elevations to properly serve customers since a higher elevation provides higher water pressure to homes.
Green River residents' water currently comes from five other tanks located throughout the city which are larger and better located.
Some water tanks are also used for emergencies and firefighting. However, there is a built-in factor in design with each water tank and the areas that they service for firefighting emergencies, according to Core, and too much water in storage can cause water quality issues, such as stagnant water. The water tanks currently in use have a better value for both water pressure and firefighting considerations.
"We have been waiting for a time to take them down for some years," Westenskow said of the old tanks, explaining the city has been waiting until removing the water tanks could be worked into the city budget. Currently the price of metal is up, meaning it's less costly to remove the tanks now than it has been for many years.
"We're taking them down because now seemed to be a better time than some others we've seen in the past to get them down," Westenskow said.
Jackman Construction is the primary contractor hired to remove the water tanks, and is working together with Pacific Steel to take the metal.
"They're not being gentle about taking it down," Westenskow noted with a laugh, explaining the tanks will not be salvaged but will be used for scrap metal.
The city of Green River is not planning to build new water tanks at this time, according to Core. He explained the Joint Powers Water Board is currently finishing up a raw water reservoir project that gives the Rock Springs and Green River areas approximately 10 days of water storage in case of emergencies.
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