'Charlie Brown' water tower is getting a makeover

Pullman's iconic water tower featuring a Charlie Brown mural is currently hidden behind a thick white tarp as crews work to sandblast and repaint the 67-year-old structure after it sprang a leak earlier this year.

The roughly $400,000 job was needed after a resident reported in early February water leaking out of the 103-foot-tall tower, which overlooks the city from Pioneer Hill. When a city official examined the tower, a leak was confirmed on the bottom of the tank. The discovery prompted the city to declare a state of emergency, a move that helped the city bypass the normal bidding process for repairs, which can take several months.

City Supervisor Mark Workman said the water being held in the tower was temporarily drained back into the city's water system after the city was made aware of the issue and a patch was installed to stop the leak. He said the water tower was down for a few weeks because of the maintenance.

Now scaffolding is hiding the entire tower, as crews assess how the patch is holding, inspect the tank for other areas of deterioration, sandblast the old paint off the tower and repaint the outside and inside of the tank.

Ruth Younce, an engineering inspector for the city of Pullman, said the height and amount of scaffolding required to paint the tower is why the project is so expensive.

Younce said crews will begin working on the outside of the tank in order to save water for the remainder of the irrigation season. Water will be sent back into the city's water system at the conclusion of the season.

"We don't want to have an empty tank if there's a demand for water," she said.

The white tarp covering the scaffolding and the water tower is intended to contain sand and old paint from the sandblasting and paint overspray from blowing to nearby residences.

Younce said most of the final coat of paint that was inside the 100,000 gallon tank is now gone and the new paint inside will help protect the tower from future wear. Special paint approved by the American Water Works Association will be applied to the inside of the tank to keep water safe and still protect the interior of the tank, which Workman said is showing signs of deterioration.

The project is scheduled to be completed in early November, and once the containment tarp and scaffolding are taken down the tower will look much like it has for the past 50 years. Younce said the city did its best to match the tower's old green paint and the contractor is bringing in an artist to repaint the Charlie Brown mural, which was originally graffitied by local Douglas Rudolph in 1963 when he was a sophomore at Pullman High School.

"He'll look the way he has in the past," Younce said.

The project also includes some minor structural modifications, like welding a safety railing on the inside of the tank and welding extra eyebolts atop the tower so workers have more options when clamping their safety harnesses.

Younce said the Charlie Brown Water Tower is the tallest water tower in Pullman, but it also has the smallest capacity.

Josh Babcock can be reached at (208) 883-4630, or by email to jbabock@dnews.com.