A 20-ton domed steel plate will hover briefly over Lake View Hill Park tomorrow morning as crews carefully install the top of Madison’s newest water tower. The 60-foot diameter roof will be the final piece added to Lake View Water Tower before painting begins next month. A large crane is already on site in preparation for the move.
 
The new 1.3 million gallon water tower is a uniquely efficient use of space and infrastructure. It’s one of just a dozen or so “double-reservoir” towers in the country, and the first in Wisconsin. Two separate tanks inside the tower will work independently of each other to serve two distinct parts of the city, or pressure zones. The tower will provide water and better fire protection not just to the immediate neighborhood, but to most of the north and east sides of Madison from the Yahara River to Cottage Grove Road. Lake View Water Tower replaces the original 1930s-era structure built to supply water to patients and staff at Lake View Hill Sanatorium (now the Dane Co. Department of Human Services building).
 
On Wednesday, crews will begin securing the roof plate to the crane hook and lifting it into place sometime between 8 and 9:30 a.m., weather-permitting. Any high winds will cause the work to be delayed or postponed.