Culbertson schedules water tank demolition; temporary supply switch, testing planned

Pittsburg Tanks is scheduled to be in Culbertson around Jan. 21, 2019, to begin demolition and reconstruction of the town’s water tank, according to the council’s project update at the Jan. 7 meeting. Council member Bob Jasper said he has coordinated with Dry Prairie to switch the town over to the small tank temporarily and that he will take a water sample to Williston for laboratory testing before the water is distributed.

The project update appeared in a broader list of routine project statuses that the council reviewed during the meeting. The council did not record further technical details, a construction timeline beyond the Jan. 21 start window, or the projected duration of the tank outage in the meeting minutes.

The council’s record shows no objections to the item as discussed and no formal motion was recorded specifically to authorize the demolition work during this meeting. The minutes note only that the contractor (Pittsburg Tanks) is expected to begin on or about Jan. 21 and that the town will rely on the small tank and pre-distribution sampling to protect water quality while work proceeds.

Culbertson officials and the meeting record identified the private firms involved by name: Pittsburg Tanks will perform the tank reconstruction and Dry Prairie was contacted about switching supply to the small tank. The minutes do not specify whether the water-sample testing in Williston is being performed by a municipal laboratory, a private lab, or which testing standards will be used.

Next steps recorded in the minutes: the town will move to the small tank, and Bob Jasper will take a sample to Williston for testing before the town resumes distribution from the reconstructed tank. The council will address any needed formal authorizations or additional contract details at a future meeting if and when they are presented in the agenda.