Rising water (tanks), raising questions

For many months now, I have been reminded of my dear, departed mother as I have driven back and forth past a big, whopping water storage tank being built smack dab in middle of the ’burbs of northeast Richland County.

Now I know you are scratching your head – what could the construction of a water tank possibly have to do with my mama?

Well, let me tell you.

Ann McAden was a smart, Southern lady. She frequently used several favorite expressions and, for lack of a better description, a little noise that came from the back of her throat, to indicate her reaction to an occurrence, a remark that was made, some sort of new information, or someone who was doing something that, for better or worse, made her take notice.

These expressions and the subtle noise were always open to interpretation; they might carry with them a hint of approval or disapproval, pleasant surprise, or plain old curiosity.

So in the case of the construction of the City of Columbia’s so-called “Genstar” water storage tank which includes an enormous “bowl” that weighs 200 tons (“My stars!”) and which was being lifted into the air Thursday morning (“I wish you’d look!”), well, you see, I am reminded of my mother and her favorite expressions and her little noise.

The tank – located just off Summit Parkway and shaped like a mammoth mushroom – is one of three new tanks the city is building to the tune of about 14 million bucks. (“My stars!”)

“Each tank,” said city water engineer Jason Shaw, “can hold two million gallons of water. That’s enough to hold the water from more than three Olympic-size swimming pools.” (“Will wonders never cease!”)

The city began building the tanks – including one in Ballentine and one on Killian Road – in October, 2014. (“Hmph.”)

According to Shaw, the tanks are “designed to help stabilize pressure in the nearby water system.

During high demand periods, tanks supplement what our pumps are able to pump so customers don’t experience dramatic pressure swings. (“Hmph.”) High demand periods for residential areas are generally from 4 to 9 a.m., when people are getting ready in the morning, and 4 to 9 p.m., when people are coming home from work, fixing dinner and getting ready for bed.” (“Hmph.”)

A worker at the site Thursday morning said the Genstar bowl was being raised in 8-inch increments. (“I wish you’d look!”) The raising was accompanied by occasional lurching noises. (“My stars!”)

The worker, who was accommodating but didn’t want his name in the newspaper, said the tank is scheduled to be working later this year. (“Hmph.”)

He said the bowl, which has been sitting on the ground for several months, has confused some passersby who believed it would stay there. (“Hmph.”) He also said some people are still of the belief that the big bowl captures rain water.

“It is amazing to me that people would still think we are drinking rain water,” he said. (“My stars!”)

In fact, he said the Genstar bowl will have a top, made like “pieces of a pie” which will be welded together. (“Hmph.”)

The worker said the bowl, which is white right now, will eventually have the letters “COLUMBIA” painted on it. He said at some point the letters were stenciled on the bowl but then the stenciling went away. (“Hmph.”) He noted that recent rainy weather has prevented the letters from being painted on before the bowl went up. (“Hmph.”)

Shaw said the Genstar bowl would take about four to six hours to raise. (“My stars!”)

But once it’s raised and once it’s working, he said, it will join “21 active storage tanks in the water distribution system, totaling 25.85 million gallons worth of water storage. On average, the city’s water system treats and pumps 60 million gallons of water a day to over 144,000 metered accounts.” (“Will wonders never cease!”)

Salley McAden McInerney is a local writer whose novel, Journey Proud, is based upon growing up in Columbia in the early 1960s. She may be reached by emailing salley.mac@gmail.com.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Rising water (tanks), raising questions."