The City of Seminole is beginning the process necessary to perform routine maintenance repairs on its water towers. The project began in mid-2019 when the towers were inspected in order to discern whether they were still operational or in need of repair. According to the report, Seminole has two water towers in great shape, two in need of maintenance, and two which may need to be replaced sooner rather than later.

Because these towers are only inspected every five years, there is a lot of room for wear and tear between evaluations. As for the two Seminole water towers in need of maintenance, which are located on Boren Boulevard and A Street respectively, the repairs are a fairly routine matter. Some of their valves need to be replaced, and there is some corrosion, vent piping, and internal ladder issues which need to be fixed, all of which are age-related problems.

Public Works Director Bryant Baker is set to bring the matter to the attention of the Seminole City Council at their June 9 meeting. He will be asking them to allow him to begin the bidding process, which will help the city find out what the price range for repairing these water towers will be.

Although Baker warns that this can be a rather arduous process, as it can take as long as six months, he stresses it will be more than worth it in the long run.

“The more maintenance done on a regular basis,” affirms Baker, “the longer the tower lasts. It’s like a car.”

As for the two towers in need of replacement, which are located in the south side of Seminole, the city has an engineer working on the possibility of replacing the two of them with one larger water tower. However, Baker assures there is no need for immediate concern regarding these towers as that section of town’s water can be replaced with the Highland water system in the short term.

“We have a good system and we have the best water department employees in Oklahoma. We are always looking for ways to continue to improve our services,” Baker promises.