Water Towers

Vishal Amin

LARCH 2367

Essay one

William Randall

September 14, 12

Water Towers

Every small town has one, coming out of the landscape and looking over the whole town standing tall magnificent and monumental reaching for the sky. Mine did and I am sure yours did too. “At the turn of the 20th century, there were approximately 500 standpipe water towers dotting the landscape of the United States.” (What…). Water towers are often hard to miss because they are so vast and unique; I have noticed many water towers as I have driven in some parts of the country. I thought, what purpose does the water tower have other than being a landmark of the great American landscape? But through my research I have learned that It is the reason the water is coming out your faucet. The reason water towers are so tall, “The tremendous weight of the water in the tower pushes down forcefully in a pipe connected to the water system, allowing water to spray powerfully from faucets, hoses and other devices” (Hamel). This way no pump is required to flow the water through the pipes. Many water towers were build during the industrial revolution, some are now architectural landmarks and monuments, and may not be demolished. Water towers act as a back up for the towns water source, incase there is a power outage, the water tower comes in to play and supplies the town with water, “The exact size of a water tower tank can vary greatly, but most are built to hold approximately one day’s water supply. The largest man-made water tower in the world is in McBee, South Carolina, and can hold 1.2 million gallons of water!” (Wonderopolis). This way everybody in the town is provided with enough water for their daily need.

Water tower is one of the ways a town could be spotted from a mile away. It makes it easier for the viewer if there is something drawn on the tower, for example, town football team, a painter decided to draw mural, or perhaps even a big smiley face. “The water tower in Stockton California...