Water tower raised near Hamblen Elementary
The city of Spokane is in the process of constructing a new water tank along Crestline Street at left, behind Hamblen Elementary on the South Hill, shown Friday. The funnel-shaped tank will hold about two million gallons.
The tank of a new water tower was installed Friday morning between Hamblen Park and Hamblen Elementary School on the South Hill.
The light brown tank sits on a narrower concrete pedestal on the southeast corner of the school grounds, partially hidden by pine trees.
Spokane Public Schools granted an easement to the city for the project in 2022.
The 2-million-gallon tank will support future development on the South Hill and firefighting during times of peak water use, Spokane Public Works spokeswoman Kirstin Davis said.
When complete, the tower will be about 100 feet tall and about 100 feet wide, according to a previous Spokesman-Review report.
The city selected the site after a public poll favored it over several possible alternatives.
Marin Laufenberg, the mother of a boy entering first grade at Hamblen, watched a crane lift the tank in stages Friday beginning around 8 a.m. from a picnic blanket by the school’s playground.
The school’s principal sent an email about it to parents and it seemed like a big event. Laufenberg said it was “thrilling,” but her son got bored.