New College Station water tower opens, city officials take first sip

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - The College Station water tower on Rock Prairie road is now fully operational. Community members and local officials gathered for the ribbon cutting at the bagel-colored water tower .

The new tower will serve the east side of town, including the Midtown, Lowes and the Pebble Creek areas. Work on the $6 million project started in September 2020 but was delayed several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Water towers are primarily used to pressurize the larger public water system and provide a large storage volume for firefighting or temporary power outages. The new water tower is designed to serve an area of College Station that is much lower in ground elevation, which can result in undesirably high water pressures during peak hours, according to city officials.

“This is heavy, heavy infrastructure, it’s expensive, it cost money, but this is what it takes to support a growing community,” said Director of Water Services, Gary Mechler.

The new tower is fully online and customers shouldn’t notice any change in water quality or pressure. according to Mechler.