Fixing standpipe is a tall order
<p>Terry Pickel, Assistant Superintendent at the City of Coeur d’Alene Water Department, gazes up to the 168 foot Standpipe in Coeur d’Alene Thursday. The standpipe is the largest in the world and will soon be revamped with new coat of paint.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - Built by the city of Coeur d'Alene in 1992, the Prairie Standpipe is 168 feet tall and can store 2 million gallons of water.
It's reportedly the largest standpipe in the world and, according to city officials, after 23 years it's ready for a new coat of paint.
"We take pride in our equipment," said Assistant Water Superintendent Terry Pickel. "Perception is everything in the water business - if it looks good, it tastes good."
The $125,900 project was unanimously approved by the city council this week, with the contract going to Coatings Unlimited, the low bidder. No local companies bid on the project.
Next month, the water department will drain the stored water back into the aquifer before the company begins a five-week process of preparing and re-coating the standpipe.
"It needs to be drained first because with the temperatures on the inside being much cooler than the outside, it creates a lot of condensation," Pickel said. "That temperature needs to be equalized in order for the coating to stick."
Coatings Unlimited, of Kent, Wash., will use a paint specifically designed to adhere to the existing coating and has a life expectancy of 25 years. The product is beneficial, Pickel said, because it rolls on and has no negative impact on the environment or the surrounding buildings.
Residents won't be affected by the re-coating process, Pickel added, and crews are expected to have the project completed so the city can refill the standpipe prior to the summer months when it sees the most use.
Pickel, who has worked in the city's water department for a decade, told The Press that the standpipe exists to provide water storage and pressure for the Upper Zone, an area from Kathleen to Prairie Avenue. It is located off Wilbur Avenue, just west of U.S. 95.
"We need that high elevation to maintain pressure in this area because the pumps themselves can't do it," Pickel said. "It provides adequate storage so the pumps don't cycle too much. It's a standby for the fire department to use as water flow, and a backup source of water in case there's a power failure and we can't run the wells."
Although most of the original color has faded, Pickel told The Press that the re-coated standpipe will be the same blue shade it was painted in 1992.
"The color just kind of blends in with the surroundings," he said. "On a day with clear blue sky, you don't even know it's here."