Platte City’s widely recognizable orange water tower along Hwy. 92 across from Platte County High School now has a temporary new look–a drape over the top. Crews have begun work on cleaning and painting the tower. As reported earlier in The Landmark, the fresh paint will keep the tower orange, avoiding a controversy in the early 1990s when a board of aldermen initially proposed going beige but switched the choice to the original orange after a public outcry. The containment drape allows the contractor to contain and capture the abrasives used to remove the old paint as well as the removed paint particles. The drape will remain in place both during the cleaning and painting phases to prevent overspray. The last time the tank exterior was repainted was 1993. While the 250,000 gallon orange water tower, notably visible to travelers of Interstate 29, is out of service during the repainting, the city has sufficient operating pressure from its supply line from the City of Kansas City and sufficient water storage in its 1.6 million gallon standpipe east of I-29.
Ivan Foley/Landmark photo
