Water tower being built 
at Newton’s industrial park

Construction is now under way on a new 500,000 gallon water tower near the REG biodiesel plant northeast of Newton.

Crews from Chicago Bridge and Iron will be working another month to complete the construction, then a painting crew will take another month, according to Mark Higday, foreman for the project.

The tower, known as North Newton Elevated Tank #21, was planned to meet the domestic demands as well as the fire suppression needs of the industrial park, according to Mark Schoborg, engineering manager at Central Iowa Water Association. The industrial park includes, in addition to the biodiesel plant, TPI Composites, Iowa Interstate Railroad, and potentially other businesses in the future. Schoborg said the tower is needed to meet increasing demands of rural customers as well.

“The 500,000 gallon hydropillar water tower will be connected to an existing 12-inch transmission main which pumps water from our Newton source northward,” Schoborg said. “The tower will provide storage for a service territory surrounding the industrial park which is also in need of elevated storage as more and more rural customers have continued to connect over the last 30 years.

Half of the $1.3 million for the tower was funded through an Economic Development Administration federal grant awarded in 2008. The remainder will be funded through a loan from USDA/Rural Development. Schoborg said CIWA reviews its water rates yearly, and rates were not raised this year.

John Jennings can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 425 or via e-mail at jjennings@newtondailynews.com.