Engineer recommends 1,000,000‑gallon composite water tower for Grain Valley’s Tire Road site

Julie Jensen, an engineer and project manager with Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, told the Grain Valley City Council that the firm recommends constructing a 1,000,000‑gallon composite elevated water tank at the city’s Tire Road site to address projected storage shortfalls and improve fire flow for areas north of I‑70.

The consultant presented the results of a hydraulic model calibration and growth projections intended to reflect the city’s 2050 comprehensive plan. Jensen said the system currently serves about 16,000 residents and that combined residential and nonresidential demand averages about 1,440,000 gallons per day. Existing storage at the city’s facilities totals about 3,250,000 gallons (Tire Road ≈500,000 gallons; Mentor Road ≈1,500,000 gallons). Using the higher growth scenario and per‑capita use cited in the report, CMT estimated future storage needs of roughly 4,500,000 gallons, producing a deficit of about 1,300,000 gallons relative to current supply.

"These are CMT’s recommendations to construct a 1,000,000‑gallon composite tank on that site now," Jensen said during the presentation. She described three broad options the city could consider: (1) build a ~1,310,000‑gallon tank now; (2) build a 1,000,000‑gallon tank now and add another 500,000 gallons later when the existing Tank reaches end of life; or (3) build a 1,000,000‑gallon tank now and site additional storage elsewhere as growth patterns clarify.

Jensen reviewed four general tower styles (leg tower, pedestal, fluted/column and composite/CET). She said all four styles would meet the documented storage needs, but the composite/CET tower offers lower long‑term maintenance because the pedestal is reinforced concrete (which doesn’t require painting) and only the bowl requires periodic painting. CMT provided manufacturer pricing and amortized maintenance costs over a 60‑year horizon; the firm estimated the composite tower’s upfront cost in the presentation at roughly $4.0–$4.5 million.

Council members asked about useful lifespan, maintenance cycles and aesthetics. Staff and board members noted that the Tire Road tank underwent interior maintenance and repainting in 2005 and is expected to have several decades of useful life if maintained. Jensen said manufacturers recommend inspection cycles every five years and repainting about every 20 years but indicated properly maintained tanks can exceed 50 years of service.

City staff and at least one board member signaled informal support for moving the design forward and soliciting bids. The report notes detailed design is about 30 percent complete; Jensen said the next steps are to finish design, finalize specifications with tank manufacturers and proceed to procurement.

The council did not adopt a specific construction contract or appropriation during the meeting; the presentation concluded with direction to proceed with further design and to solicit bids as the next step.

Grain Valley City will decide later whether to pursue the larger (≈1.31M gallon) option or to stage capacity additions as growth materializes.