MIDLAND, Texas — City Councilman Dan Corrales climbed hundred of feet into the air to help inspect a Midland water tower Wednesday.
The tower, which is one of seven in Midland, currently holds up to one million gallons of water and must be inspected once a year.
Corrales and City Director of Utilities Chris Craigo made sure the tower didn't have any corrosion and to make sure that the towers equipment was functioning properly.
“To get a better idea of where do we store all that water, this particular tank stores a million gallons of water, and we have to get up there and inspect it every year," Corrales said. "If you’ve noticed, it’s made out of metal and it corrodes, so we have to make sure it’s coated. We also have equipment up there that tells us how much water is in it and whether it needs to pump more in it or not.”
Meanwhile, the water inside the tower is tested almost daily in the lab next to the tower.
“We have about 67 sample stations throughout town. They test up to eight or so of those every single day and each month we have over 200 tests," Craigo said. "We test for chlorine out in the system, ammonia for total chlorine for PH for temperature just to ensure that the water is safe to use and consumed throughout the city.”
Water quality is a conversation Corrales and Craigo didn't mind having while hundreds of feet in the air. Corrales wants to make sure everyone knows the extent of work that goes into testing what we drink every day.
“Just seeing the men and women that do this job, spending time with them and getting to know what they do, that’s what a council member should do and, should everybody climb a water tower, hey that’s on you if you wanna do it," Corrales said.