Kirbyville water tower demolished to build bigger/better version

Images courtesy of ETB Sharpshooter Judy Miller

Kirbyville, Tx:

Kirbyville's old S. Elizabeth Water Tower is now a thing of the past, at least for now. Kirbyville Mayor Frank George said Thursday that this is the beginning of a new project that actually began about four years ago.

George said that the tower has been leaking for a while so they took it out of service just over a year ago now. Within that time, they did work that needed to be done at the water distribution system and acquired necessary funding for the project. Jasper County had received grant funding from the GLO for 2.1 million that Commissioner Willie Starks and County Judge Mark Allen in the Commissioners Court, gave to the City of Kirbyville to fund the water tower. The water tower bid was 2.6 million and the City of Kirbyville committed $500,000 to the project.

George said, "The North Herndon Tower is still in operation and it will cover for both towers until the new South Elizabeth Tower is up and running." When asked how long until completion, George said, "The company has a total of 270 days to complete the job, but the contractor said it should be done before that."

The company doing the demolition and rebuild is Pittsburgh Tank and Tower.

The tower was initially installed in either the late 30's or early 40's and the newly built tower should increase the water capacity for the citizens anywhere between 50,000 and 150,000 gallons.

George said that regarding the flooding in that area, in recent years there has been work done, but the City will soon be getting back on the project. They have acquired a grant for 3.6 million to do remediation from Pin Oak Bridge on Hwy 96 West to East Main Street. Also, from East Drew to Trout Creek, there will be a 10-15 acre retention pond built to collect rain.

George added that any time there is this level of work, there has to be an archaeology survey of the wet lands to make sure nothing of historical importance exists in the location before work begins.

There is also another half million dollar upcoming project to be done at the waste water plant and a collaboration with Lamar University on a solar panel plan for the city.