New water tower at 17th and Market will be rainwater collector, irrigator and symbol of revitalized Southside. Click to enlarge all our photos.
photo by John Wilson
A 64-foot water tower in the Southside is not yet completely erected, but it's already drawing a lot of attention.
"A few people say it looks weird like a space ship. But most people say they really love it," said Eric Myers of the Urban Design Studio.
The tower, designed to hold 100,000 gallons of rainwater, is being erected at 17th Street and South Market. It is at the rear of the new downtown elementary school being built there.
Mr. Myers said use of the tower will allow water that is normally sent to the Moccasin Bend Treatment Plant to be diverted for better use - watering street trees along the redesigned 17th Street.
The city has been carrying out an ambitious program to separate stormwater from sewer lines, and this is one piece of arsenal in that effort.
But Mr. Myers said the new tower is also "meant as a symbol for the revitalized Southside." He said designers went over numerous different looks for the top of the tower and decided on one that was "more celebratory" rather than "industrial."
He said there eventually may be five such towers in the Southside - each with its own unique design at the top. Mr. Myers said city officials will test to see how this tower functions for about a year before proceeding with the other towers.
He said a wide "concrete chest" was built along 17th Street from Broad to Market to hold rainwater. It will be filtered and pumped up into the tower, then used for irrigation.
Landscaped sidewalks were erected along the pathwas of the concrete chest.
Plans are to eventually extend the rainwater collector along 17th Street from Finley Stadium to Washington Street.
Mr. Myers said the renewed 17th Street is seen as a connector tying together three communities - Jefferson Heights, Fort Negley and Cowart Street.
The stainless steel portion of the tower is up, but some adornment is still under construction. That will include brick columns that are two stories high and a metal sculpture with water trickling down into a landscaped plaza.
Chattanooga Tank and Boiler built the stainless steel tank.