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POINT PLEASANT, NJ — A project to refurbish the Riviera Parkway water tower is underway and is anticipated to be completed this spring, a Point Pleasant official said.
The project is being done by Bridgeway Associates Corp., which was awarded a $794,500 contract at the June 27, 2022 Borough Council meeting for the work.
Borough administrator Frank Pannucci said the work on the tower, which holds 500,000 gallons of water, is anticipated to be completed in April, barring bad weather.
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The borough operates its own water system, Mayor Robert Sabosik said. Point Pleasant also buys some water in bulk from New Jersey American Water and the Brick Municipal Utilities Authority to meet peak demand needs in the summer. The borough has interconnections at the ready in the case of an emergency.
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“The majority of our drinking water is processed in our own water plant,” Sabosik said. The plant, through the pump stations, pulls water from the borough’s wells throughout town and processes it. The water is distributed to homes and businesses and stored in the borough’s water towers for periods of high demand.
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The elevated towers are necessary for the pressurized water system, he said.
Councilman Joe Furmato, who chairs the council’s Public Works Committee, said the project involves a complete refurbishment inside and out, which addresses the exterior of the tower, which had begun to look dilapidated.
“The aesthetic part is a bonus that the residents in that neighborhood will be able to enjoy as well,” Furmato said.
The project includes metal work, sandblasting the tower inside and out, painting inside and out, and filter replacements, Pannucci said.
The process included erecting a tent going over the entirety of the tower to contain the work so debris didn’t blow into the surrounding area, he said. The exterior of the tower was sandblasted, and industrial vacuums were used to dehumidify the space inside the tent, allowing primer to adhere to the metal exterior.
The same process was being done on the inside of the tower was being done at the same time, with blasting, repainting and coating.
When the sandblasting was completed, the tarp was lowered and a layer of specialized paint is applied to spots where metal repairs were needed, Pannucci said.
After that is completed, workers will paint the tower top to bottom with multiple layers of specialized paint designed to endure wind, rain and freezing conditions in the years to come. In addition to the protective layers, rust prevention is applied inside and out.
“All of this is on top of replacing every nut and bolt, and all the filters and various mechanisms inside the tower,” Pannucci said.
Once the final coat of paint is completed, “the borough will place a logo on the tower promoting community spirit like we did with the Memorial Drive tank,” he said.
The completed process will have a 20-year life span before it has to be done again, Pannucci said.
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