July 23, 2016
The Water District' silver elevated water tank that stood in Ingleside for decades has been removed from the skyline.
The tank, which had been out of service since 2007, was dropped by the demolition contractor without incident at 6:30 a.m. on July 21st. It has been dismantled for scrap after being declared surplus property by the District board of directors in June.
The 250,000 gallon capacity tank was completed in August 1969 by Chicago Bridge and Iron under a contract for $82,670. The district began planning the tank in 1967 as a way to better meet the water supply needs of Ingleside, Aransas Pass, Port Aransas and the Rockport area. Aransas County joined the District as a wholesale customer in 1968. Tank construction was made possible when the Texas Water Development Board approved state loan assistance. The tank was built on a small tract of property purchased from San Patricio County.
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General Manager Brian Williams explained that the tank was taken out of service and valved off from the District's transmissions system because of changes in system hydrologic. With upgrades to the remote operating system it was possible to lower system operating pressures. That meant water would never reach the elevated water storage bowl.
Additionally, the District did an inspection of the tank in 2013 and determined that interior repairs to bring the tank up to standard would cost more than $100,000. And the tank would still have been of no use to the District.
The tank, located near the intersection of Avenue A and State Highway 361, was offered to the City of Ingleside but the city has a new tank that serves the eastern part of the city. The result, Williams said, was that the tank had no value to any potential user.
For many years the San Patricio County Sherriff's Department used the tower as a platform for a radio tower. That equipment has now been moved to another location.
The tank was the District's only elevated tank. The cities and rural water supply corporations that buy water from the District's system own their own elevated tanks.
