OCWA Water Storage Tank Maintenance

The Onondaga County Water Authority has completed the maintenance work on the East Hill water storage tank located at 3076 W. Seneca Turnpike/Rte 175 in Marcellus, NY. The tank was built in 1986. Paint systems on our water tanks typically last for 20 years or so. As it has now been 27 years, the tank was in need of repainting. While the tank painting project was being completed, we also conducted other maintenance and repair items to improve the safety and security of the tank.

A company that specializes in water tank maintenance completed the work, which involved removing the old paint first. During this process, which is done through an abrasive blast method using air compressors, the tank was fully enclosed in a containment system. This containment system allowed for easy collection of the old paint and blast material, and provided the best environment for the application of the first coat of new paint. The new paint applied was a low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) environmentally friendly paint. The contractor accessed the site utilizing the existing driveway off of Seneca Turnpike. During the work, an onsite inspector monitored the work of the painting contractor.

The painting system and other maintenance work completed should keep maintenance at a minimum for the next 20 years.

If you have any questions regarding the work you can contact either the Project Manager, Debborah Owens at extension 3131, or our Executive Engineer, Geoffrey G. Miller, P.E., BCEE at extension 3153.