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Patriotic Theme Nets Top Tank Spot
A patriotic water tank in the City of Cocoa, FL, beat out more than 200 competitors to win Tnemec’s 2015 Tank of the Year contest.
The 1.5-million gallon tank of the 156-foot tall tower is encircled by artwork depicting three American flags. The flags represent the patriotism of the Florida town, which is situated near the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
According to Doug Hansen, Tnemec’s Director – Water Tank Market, the tank was built in 1957 to supply drinking water to the developing NASA space program.
“The water tower became a community landmark after Old Glory was painted on the tank in 1976 to commemorate the nation’s Bicentennial,” he said in the company’s Oct. 23 announcement.
“Tnemec is proud to have its coatings associated with this iconic project for so many years.”
A panel of water tank enthusiasts selected the City of Cocoa water tower from among 12 finalists. The competitors were all considered with an eye toward artistic value, significance to the community and challenges encountered during the project.
Maintaining a Winning Tower
Standing near the intersection of U.S. 1 and State Road 520, the legged water tower has retained its patriotic theme over the past 40 years using various protective coating systems.
Originally painted with an old-fashioned silver alkyd coating, the tank required a total renovation in 1991 to remove corrosion caused by Florida’s salty, coastal environment.
An aliphatic acrylic polyurethane finish coat was specified for that project, and again in 2003 when recoating was required.
The tank was recoated last year using an advanced fluoropolymer coating system, which provides unsurpassed color and gloss retention.
The project involved high-pressure washing and sandblasting the exterior down to bare metal under total containment prior to being recoated.
The Public’s Picks
Two tanks, which received the most votes online from the public in each category, were named the #TeamClassic and #TeamContemporary winners.
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Painted to look like a giant strawberry, the water tank in Plant City, FL, secured the #TeamContemporary win by getting the most votes in the category. |
A tank from Pittsfield, OH, won the #TeamClassic category with 82 votes collected. According to the company, this tank stands as a testament to classic-style water tanks. This owner used Series V700 HydroFlon to coat this tank.
Plant City, FL grabbed the top spot in the #TeamContemporary category with a total of 5,792 votes—making it the highest-voted water tank the contest has seen, Tnemec said. The town’s elevated water tank, painted to look like a giant strawberry in the sky, represents an area of Florida known for its strawberry fields and annual Strawberry Festival.
The Runners-Up
With 20,703 total votes cast by the public in an online ballot, the following towns, along with City of Cocoa and Plant City, made it among the top 12: Cedarville, OH; Nobleton, Ontario, Canada; Lebanon, MO; Zebulon, NC; North Newton, KS; Amboy, IL; Oak Grove, MO; Chesterfield, VA; Carrollton, TX; and Mont Belvieu, TX.
“This is the tenth anniversary of our Tank of the Year competition, which recognizes municipalities for their aesthetic, creative, and innovative uses of exterior coatings on water storage tank projects,” Hansen said.
“We are thrilled with how the contest has grown year after year due to individual communities supporting their local water tanks.”
The annual contest is open to projects that demonstrate an innovative, creative use of the company’s coatings on water tanks.
Nominations for next year’s competition will open in March 2016.
