Contractors with the water tower restoration company Central Tank Coatings, Inc. pictured at work on the Traer water tower on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TRAER – Just in time for high school football season, Traer’s water tower will soon sport a fresh Redhawk-themed paint scheme as part of a restoration project.

“Work on the Traer water town has started,” Traer Municipal Utilities (TMU) General Manager Eric McEwen told the newspaper in a July 24 email exchange about the maintenance project spearheaded by Central Tank Coatings, Inc. out of Elgin.

“They have started with blasting the inside of the tank, platforms and manway. Once blasting is complete, they will make any repairs that are found before transitioning into painting the inside areas. While the inside coatings are curing, Central Tank Coatings will then begin work to the outside of the tank. Here, they will wash the bowl and then apply the new paint and scheme to the tank.”

During a visit from the newspaper ahead of the Winding Stairs Festival last weekend, the water tower’s old red and white TRAER logo was still intact – along with a large amount of dirt and grime visible along the base of the bowl – as contractors worked at the top of the tower to ready the outside for painting.

In place of the repeating TRAER logo, the repainted tower will feature three distinct images, McEwen explained.

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“The north and south sides of the tank will highlight ‘Traer’ which will be painted in red with a black outline. The west side of the tank will showcase a large Redhawk logo with ‘Redhawks’ painted in red with black outline above the logo. The east side of the tank will showcase ‘NT’ painted in red with a black outline along with a (smaller) Redhawk logo.”

Any “unsightly dirt and algae buildup” that may again form along the bottom of the sphere will mostly be hidden in the future thanks to the addition of a new coat of black paint, he added.

Water towers are generally blasted and repainted every 15 to 20 years, per McEwen, while the outside of a tower is usually repainted every 10 to 15 years, depending on environmental factors.

“The recommended timeframe to wash the outside of the bowl is every [three to five] years and we are hopeful that timeframe will be extended with the addition of black on the bottom portion of the sphere.”

The two new Redhawk logos were not funded by TMU, but rather made possible by utilizing local option sales tax (LOST) funds from the City of Traer and area donations. Supporting businesses and organizations include:

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

-Appraisal & Real Estate Services

-Farmers Savings Bank & Trust

-North Tama Veterinary Clinic

-AWE / NAPA

-Chelsea Savings Bank

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

-North Tama Booster Club

-North Tama Wrestling Club

Additionally, McEwen said, the logos’ commemorative graphic was funded by donations from Jammie and Kim Howard, Alex and Kallie Herink, Justin and Juliana Meggers, and Taylor and Mary Haward in honor of the late Alex Nickel, North Tama Class of 2009.

If it hasn’t already wrapped-up, the project is scheduled to finish by mid-August. It will be easy to tell – just look to the skies south and east of Taylor Park for the new logos keeping tabs on Redhawk country.