EPHRATA – On Tuesday, the City of Ephrata began filling its new water tower after completing disinfection and pressure testing. As of Wednesday, the tower is 20% full, with mandated testing beginning. The tower, if results come back clean, will be filled the rest of the way and operational by Thanksgiving, according to Public Works Director Rob Harris.  

“We not only have to do bacterial testing, but we also have to do more advanced testing,” Harris said. “The bacterial tests will come back in around 36 hours, but the other test will take more time.” 

New water reservoirs, according to the Washington Department of Health, must be tested for bacteria, coliform, chlorine, pH, disinfection byproducts and volatile organic chemicals.  

Harris said the testing samples will be pulled Thursday. Then the contractor, T Bailey, will begin removing scaffolding.  

“We will deliver the samples and then hurry up and wait,” Harris said. 

If the results come back negative, the city will fill the remainder of the tower and complete one more round of tests. If those also come back negative, the water tower will be connected to the city's water system.  

“We are hoping to have it up and running by Thanksgiving,” Harris said. “I think people will appreciate it. I mean, you might even be able to run your sprinklers and take a shower at the same time.” 

The water tower will hold around 3.8 million gallons of water and help with water pressure issues throughout the city. 

The water tower, in the spring, will be adorned with the two Ephrata school district “E’s.” The contractor, according to Harris, said that due to the weather, it would not be in the city's best interest to try to paint them now.  

“The E’s are the final step; it will be up and running before that,” Harris said.