# What are water towers made from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 16, 2013, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-water-towers-made-from/661112 "2013-06-16T06:35:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-water-towers-made-from/661112/42 "2013-06-18T13:39:18Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I think this problem is real. This occurred to me when I saw the Hudson river develop several feet of ice in a harsh winter, with brackish water and a constant flow underneath. It wouldn’t take long for a tank of water to freeze up if there wasn’t some warmer water constantly circulating through it. Even the tanks with their base on the ground have a tremendous surface area to radiate heat from. Oh no, you’re misunderstanding what I meant. I’m sure it’s real- I just meant that in a lot of the country it’s probably not much of an issue because the ambient temperature doesn’t stay below freezing long enough to actually freeze that much water. I’m sure in places like Maine or North Dakota, they would freeze if more drastic measures aren’t taken. But somewhere like say… Kansas City, it may or may not be necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Gbro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Gbro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gbro)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-water-towers-made-from/661112/43 "2013-06-18T17:51:05Z")
I spent a few hours volunteering at the Park yesterday and took a couple more pictures of the old Tower. It sets on the edge of a 450ft deep iron ore mine.’ [Here](http://www.nashwauk.net/images/graphics/photo871.jpg) and [Here](http://www.nashwauk.net/images/graphics/photo872.jpg) > [@](#): > > I’m sure in places like Maine or North Dakota, they would freeze if more drastic measures aren’t taken. But somewhere like say… Kansas City, it may or may not be necessary. > Reply With Quote Here in Northern MN we can have weeks of Mercury below -20F and the winter of '96-'97 we hit -50F and our exposed water towers were never an issue. And the towers are exactly like the tower Kimballkid has provided a picture of. > [@](#): > > Most of the ones in the small towns in my state look like this and were built in the early 1900’s. And ours along with all the small community’s were upgraded to the contemporary lolly-Pop Mostly because of the capacity of the old system didn’t meet the established requirements for the insurance underwriters and NFPA and i am sure there are other agency involved. Anyway, here in my home town the water drink-ability READ TASTE, went down and the public outcry was huge. There was just to much water in the new tower and today the tower is not filled much over 1/2 way. And the new tower’s are all covered with MOLD! every town is now having to clean the mold off there towers. The old towers never molded like these new ones and I believe the old ones like 1900 era towers were Iron and not Steel and didn’t rust like Steel. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-water-towers-made-from/661112/44 "2013-06-24T14:55:14Z")
> [@matt357](#): > > If the tank corrodes that easily how come all our tap water dosen’t come out brown? With respect to the water storage tanks, they are painted on the inside as well as the outside to minimize corrosion. However, as far as corrosion is concerned, the water mains are a much bigger concern. Older water mains are generally made from cast iron, and newer water mains are generally made of ductile iron with a cement lining. Both have a service life of about 100 years, and both corrode continuously. With flowing water, the corrosion byproducts don’t usually get into the tap water, but a lot comes out when we flush water mains. During flushing operations (which stirs up the sediment), the tap water in the vicinity does come out brown. We tell customers to minimize water use until the flushing is completed, then to run the a tap in the house until it runs clear. Note that neither sediment nor corrosion byproducts are a particular health hazard, mainly just an aesthetic concern. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-water-towers-made-from/661112/45 "2013-06-24T17:05:40Z")
Around here, they particularly mention to avoid washing laundry when that’s happening, as you can get rust stains on your clothes. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-water-towers-made-from/661112/46 "2013-06-24T18:04:01Z")
> [@](#): > > What are water towers made from? By weight, they are mostly water. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-water-towers-made-from/661112/47 "2013-06-24T18:22:25Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > . . . [Unrelated, but a sincere wonder: these are I suppose water storage tanks for when there’s a drought; but they don’t look as if they’d hold more than a few field’s worth, and there aren’t that many about — so what’s the use ?] > [@Telemark](#): > > Water tanks are what creates the water pressure that is seen at the tap. You can pump water up to the tanks anytime and then it will provide water pressure for an extended period of time, even if there’s a power failure. **Telemark** and the wiki article answered the question. I’m just sliding in to show [a graph](http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2010/03/water-consumption-in-edmonton-during-gold-medal-olympic-hockey-game.html). I also remember seeing a circular measurement of the water pressure in Davis, CA, during the last episode of MASH that showed a similar fluctuation. But I couldn’t find that online. Maybe I should see if I can dig out a textbook. (I don’t prune textbooks very often, but every decade I let loose of a few more.) ---
**Author:** ![matt357](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@matt357](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt357)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-water-towers-made-from/661112/48 "2013-06-27T17:49:18Z")
> [@robby](#): > > With respect to the water storage tanks, they are painted on the inside as well as the outside to minimize corrosion. > > However, as far as corrosion is concerned, the water mains are a much bigger concern. Older water mains are generally made from cast iron, and newer water mains are generally made of ductile iron with a cement lining. Both have a service life of about 100 years, and both corrode continuously. With flowing water, the corrosion byproducts don’t usually get into the tap water, but a lot comes out when we flush water mains. During flushing operations (which stirs up the sediment), the tap water in the vicinity does come out brown. We tell customers to minimize water use until the flushing is completed, then to run the a tap in the house until it runs clear. Note that neither sediment nor corrosion byproducts are a particular health hazard, mainly just an aesthetic concern. What if someone if washing their face during this and gets rust in their eyes? ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-water-towers-made-from/661112/49 "2013-06-28T00:39:22Z")
> [@matt357](#): > > What kind of material are water towers made from? The kind that look like this [File:Olcott water tower.jpg - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olcott_water_tower.jpg) Did anyone mention a water tower can be rubber or plastic lined to avoid corrosion? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-water-towers-made-from/661112.md?page=2)