Lewes BPW awards bid for new water tower
A water tower to be built near Cape Henlopen High School is a step closer to rising into the air.
The Lewes Board of Public Works voted 4-1 to accept a $6.27 million bid from CB&I at a special meeting Nov. 19.
BPW General Manager Austin Calaman said cost-reduction opportunities could reduce the final price to just over $6 million.
The board decided to spend more for a 1-million-gallon tank, instead of a 750,000-gallon version, to better meet anticipated growth.
“We are doing [a second water tower] because we are nowhere close to where we should be for fire flow and future demands,” Calaman said.
Calaman said water towers are used for pressure equalization and emergency storage in the case of a fire or other huge demand. The water in towers is pretreated.
The silver, 300,000-gallon water tower on Schley Avenue was built in the 1950s. It is the city’s only water tower. It will remain in service after the new one is built.
When the new storage tank enters service, it will quadruple the city’s capacity.
Board member Preston Lee cast the lone no vote for the new water tower.
“I can’t see quadrupling capacity with this amount of money at stake when we don’t have a lot of money,” Lee said. “The issue of additional capacity can be solved in the future, if it does occur.”
The board voted unanimously to pursue $1 million in funding for the project from the state Department of Health and Social Services.
Tom Panetta, BPW board president, said the current tank was dry when the canal crossing main failed Aug. 20, which added to the crisis.
Calaman said the new tank will have a BPW logo and City of Lewes crest on the side facing Kings Highway and Route 1. The side facing the high school will have a Cape script logo. The logos are included in the bid, but the designs have not been formally approved.
Calaman said the project should be completed in mid- to late 2026.
The board also appointed Assistant General Manager Robin Davis as interim general manager, effective Saturday, Dec. 21. He will succeed Calaman, who resigned earlier this month for family reasons.
The board voted unanimously to hire consulting firm RKL to conduct a search for a permanent general manager.
