News Photo by Steve Schulwitz The Alpena Township water tower on Piper Road is seen on Thursday.

ALPENA TOWNSHIP — One of Alpena Township’s three water towers will be revitalized this spring or fall, officials say.

The work on the tower on Piper Road is not being done because of any irregularities in the water, but to ensure the structural integrity and functionality of the tower, officials say. Water service should not be disrupted.

Visual inspections of the water tower and its equipment are done a couple times a week, but a more thorough one was needed to gauge its condition on its top and interior, Catherine Winn, regional manager of F&V Operations and Resource Management, the township’s water contractor, said.

Winn said the interior of water towers are inspected in two ways: The tower can be drained and inspected visually, or a robot with a camera system can be used remotely to see what needs to be done.

Winn said each tower is inspected every five years, on a rotating basis, and exterior projects are routinely done every 10 years. She said redoing the interior, as is planned now, happens about every 15 years.

Winn explained the maintenance project would include painting and clear-coating on the exterior to protect against corrosion and more aggressive action on the inside.

She said the work on the inside needs to be done by companies with a high degree of knowledge on water tower regulations.

“The coating and material they use are certified and approved,” she said. “You just can’t throw a coat of paint on it. Everything is very specific, because it comes into contact with the water.”

The outside will be addressed too, Winn said. She said corrosion will be fixed and handrails and valves will be rehabilitated, to name a few things.

“This is really a routine activity done on every water system,” Winn said. “It is done to make sure that structural integrity is being maintained.”

Township water customers won’t experience any change in their service. She said water towers act as a storage tank for water demand and provide pressure to the system.

When emptied for repairs, the other towers will provide enough pressure to move the water. She said the City of Alpena, which produces the water and sells it to the township, may have to fill the other towers more often to meet the extra demand on them.

Winn said the project and closure of the water tower will last approximately six to seven weeks.