page_title: Water tower
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Water tower / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: I took photo with Canon camera in Centerville, TX.
context_page_description: A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system for the distribution of potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. In some places, the term standpipe is used interchangeably to refer to a water tower. Water towers often operate in conjunction with underground or surface service reservoirs, which store treated water close to where it will be used. Other types of water towers may only store raw water for fire protection or industrial purposes, and may not necessarily be connected to a public water supply.
  Water towers are able to supply water even during power outages, because they rely on hydrostatic pressure produced by elevation of water to push the water into domestic and industrial water distribution systems; however, they cannot supply the water for a long time without power, because a pump is typically required to refill the tower. A water tower also serves as a reservoir to help with water needs during peak usage times. The water level in the tower typically falls during the peak usage hours of the day, and then a pump fills it back up during the night.
context_section_description: Water towers can be surrounded by ornate coverings including fancy brickwork, a large ivy-covered trellis or they can be simply painted. Some city water towers have the name of the city painted in large letters on the roof, as a navigational aid to aviators and motorists. Sometimes the decoration can be humorous. An example of this are water towers built side by side, labeled HOT and COLD. Cities in the United States possessing side-by-side water towers labeled HOT and COLD include Granger, Iowa; Canton, Kansas; Pratt, Kansas, and St. Clair, Missouri; Eveleth, Minnesota at one time had two such towers, but no longer does. When a third water tower was built next to the Okemah, Oklahoma set of Hot and Cold towers, the town briefly considered naming it "Running", but eventually decided to use "Home of Woody Guthrie". The House in the Clouds in Thorpeness, located in the English county of Suffolk, was built to resemble a house in order to disguise the eyesore, whilst the lower floors were used for accommodation. When the town was connected to the mains water supply, the water tower was dismantled and converted to additional living space.
  
  The first and original "Mushroom" – Svampen in Swedish – was built in Örebro in Sweden in the early 1950s and later copies were built around the world including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
  Many small towns in the United States use their water towers to advertise local tourism, their local high school sports teams, or other locally notable facts.
  Since the water tower is often the highest point in the town (in small towns), antennas, public address systems, cameras and tornado warning sirens are sometimes placed on them, as well.
  Many water towers serve manufacturing and other commercial facilities. These are often decorated with the name of the company that the water tower serves.
  Sapp Bros. truck stops use a water tower with a handle and spout – looking like a coffee pot – as the company logo. Many of their facilities have decorated actual water towers (presumably non-functional) on-site.
caption: Tower with local high school mascot, a Tiger (Centerville, Texas)
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