One of Airdrie's most historic landmarks, the water tower, is officially done with renovations.

Jennifer Lutz, Community Development Team Leader with the City of Airdrie hopes Airdronians will enjoy the new look.

"It's so nice that it's back to its original glory, all shiny and without rust, it was really nice to bring it back to where everybody's proud to see it and it looks good for the city."

While the painting and tower portion is complete, the next job which will be done in the future is completing enhancements so that the tower location is more inviting and educational for residents and visitors to Airdrie.

The Airdrie Water Tower was constructed in 1959 by Horton’s Steel Works and was originally used to provide water pressure and storage for the village’s new municipal water lines. The 21.8 metre-high, 189,270 litre (50,000 US gallon) steel tower represents mid-20th century infrastructure and was officially declared a municipal historic resource last year which made the City eligible to apply for this grant.

..Photo of the water tower

The approved budget for this project was $309,000 which included foundation work, reinforcement of the rusted areas, painting, re-lettering, and adding a protective coating to prevent corrosion. While prices of everything are not 100 per cent complete, the project will be under budget.

Luckily the city received some good news this week which will help save even more money.

"We received the Heritage Preservation Partnership Program grant of $39,280, from the Government of Alberta to support the conservation of the Airdrie Water Tower."

The city does apply for every possible grant when it comes to projects they are working on.

The remodelling of the tower was scheduled for last year, but being unable to get the proper workforce, the project was pushed to this year.

The water tower was last painted back in 2003.

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