Earlier this week, the Northern Kentucky Water District started replacing the 275,000 gallon “Lumley” water storage tower behind the Fort Thomas City Building at 130 N. Fort Thomas Ave.
The original tower was built in 1936 and was demolished in two days starting February 29, 2016.
“It was time to replace the tower based on its age and condition, and it is also being upsized to provide additional water storage,” said Amy Kramer, V.P. or Engineering, Production & Distribution for the Northern Kentucky Water District.
Construction on the new tower is expected to begin next week and will take approximately 12 months to complete. The replacement tower will be much larger, holding 400,000 gallons of water.
Including this tower and another in Fort Thomas, there are 20 water towers in Kenton and Campbell counties.
So how do they work?
Pump stations boost water into storage towers until they are full. Most towers are refilled between two and four times daily when automated sensors indicate water has dropped to a certain level. Water towers provide storage to meet daily fluctuations in water use throughout the day.
Pictures of the Lumley water tower were taken by Sharon MacKnight.
14 more pictures below:
