Albert Lea water tower expected to be operational next month

(ABC 6 News) – The water tower on the corner of Newton Ave. and Fountain St. in Albert Lea is expected to be completed by next month.

The project has been going on for almost two years, and it’s the talk of the town.

It makes up the city’s skyline and with it nearing completion, the city is proud of the progress they’re making.

“The completion date is July 12th,” Ryan Hajek, assistant director of public works for the City of Albert Lea said.

Construction crews are hard at work making the water tower the best it can be.

It’s shaping up to be something special.

“It’s interesting. I’ve never been a part of building a tower. It was a learning experience for me,” Hajek said.

And who can forget when the demolition of the old water tower started in September of 2021.

All that’s left now is painting the interior and exterior with some minor quality of life improvements along the way.

Ryan’s a fan of this project.

“I believe it’s going to look nice,” Hajek said.

The cost of this project is just under $7,000,000.

Both this water tower and the older one hold 1,000,000 gallons of water.

But one was outdated, Ryan says it took more work to make sure everything functioned properly.

“The pressure had to get low enough to utilize that water in emergency situations,” Hajek said.

This new water tower goes with the flow.

Ryan’s staying current with all of this information, to make sure this project gets it right.

“It’s a large structure, to see it go up was quite a feat within itself,” Hajek said.

For more information on this, visit the City Of Albert Lea’s website, HERE.