Intricate, Multicolored Water Tower Design Showcases Fort Lauderdale Community

Situation
Restoration of the 160-foot-tall, 1-million-gallon elevated water storage tank serving Fort Lauderdale nearly did not happen. The city had planned to demolish the almost 70-year-old fixture of the downtown skyline until the local community lobbied for its refurbishment instead. As a result, SUEZ completed a year-long, $1.9-million restoration of the structure’s interior and exterior, which now welcomes city residents and visitors with an intricate, 11-color design fitting of the picturesque southeast Florida community.

Execution
The tank restoration project included replacing ladders and railings, making structural repairs, and recoating the tank inside and out. A crew from SUEZ started the tower restoration by cleaning, sandblasting and coating the tank’s complete interior. They applied two full coats of Sherwin-Williams Macropoxy® 646 PW epoxy with a stripe coat sprayed in-between to all sharp edges, corners and welds to ensure a high film build on these areas for long-term corrosion protection.

For the tank’s exterior restoration, SUEZ installed a full containment tent to encapsulate the tower, and protect nearby structures and vehicles from dust and overspray during blasting and coating operations. Starting with the tank’s legs and underside before moving to the top, the SUEZ crew blasted and coated the entire exterior. They first applied primer and stripe coats of Sherwin-Williams Corothane® I – GalvaPac 1K zinc primer. The moisture-curing primer gave the crew flexibility for the applications, enabling applicators to spray the coating even during very humid conditions. Next, the crew applied an intermediate coat of Sherwin-Williams Acrolon™ 218 HS acrylic polyurethane, a fast-drying coating that delivers excellent color and gloss retention for exterior exposures.

For the decorative topcoat application, Jim Kelly, owner of Industrial and Commercial Signs, drew and painted the tank’s intricate, 11-color geometric design on the tower’s top, underside, legs and riser by hand. He also added a slogan touting the “All-America City – Fort Lauderdale” on four sides of the tank. Kelly and a small crew then rolled and brushed the different colored areas using Sherwin-Williams Fluorokem™ HS fluoropolymer urethane. The high-gloss, ultra-durable coating provides unparalleled color and gloss performance, helping the tower maintain excellent long-term aesthetics for its various shades of orange, pink, yellow, gray, white, blue and green. Artist Peter Symons designed the unique pattern.

Outcome
“The project team worked tirelessly on the tank restoration to bring this city landmark back to its rightful state as a welcoming – and now iconic – community billboard,” said Murray Heywood, North America Market Manager, Water & Wastewater, Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine. “The efforts of the entire team ensured a successful rehabilitation that will maintain potable water service and superior aesthetics over the long term.”