Pandora will build a new 200,000-gallon, elevated water tower for $2.4 million along Basinger Road.
David Trinko | The Lima News
PANDORA — Pandora will double its water capacity soon, opening up a world of possibilities for the Putnam County village with 1,181 residents.
“We could get some more industrial base or open up some residential neighborhoods out there with the capacity of our new tower,” said Pandora Mayor Jeremy Liechty.
The village broke ground Monday on its new 200,000-gallon elevated water storage tower near the intersection of Basinger Road and Welty Street, on the site of the village’s industrial park. The new water tower, paid for mostly with state and federal grants, should be in service by June 30.
Phoenix Fabricators and Erectors, of Avon, will build the tower, submersible mixer and electrical components for $2,476,202. Bockrath & Associates Engineering and Surveying of Ottawa and Hoff Consulting Services of Maumee designed the tower.
It will replace an existing 100,000 gallon tank located near the intersection of Welty and Sherman streets in the village. That tower, built in 1947 at a cost of $72,000, served the village well but needs major repairs.
“You can only hold iron together for so long,” Pandora council member Ricky Fricke quipped about the 76-year-old tower.
The village first realized the need for a replacement water tower back in 2006, when Pandora Manufacturing had a major industrial fire that depleted the water on hand. Village officials worked on a replacement project off and on for years since then.
The idea really took hold in 2019, when Pandora officials contacted Bockrath & Associates, said Greg Bockrath, owner of the firm. They submitted a state grant request in 2020, but it was turned down.
They tried again in 2021 and were pleased to receive a $1,149,500 from the Ohio Department of Development Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Grant, $750,000 from the Community Development Block Grant’s Residential Public Infrastructure Program and $500,000 from the Ohio Public Works Commission’s Small Government Grant program.
“We revised our plan of attack, submitted a grant application for all three on behalf of the village, hoping to get one or two, and low and behold, we were successful getting all three,” Bockrath said.
The tower is slated to include the words “Pandora Est. 1832” on it. The existing water tower will be dismantled as part of the project, and it should be down by Oct. 1.
Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
