The $122,767 project includes the removal and disposal of the 500,000-gallon, all-steel, torispherical leg, elevated storage tank, according to the Feb. 21 council agenda item. The Fighting Farmers Tower will be taken down sometime in early March and will take two to three days to demolish.
Funding for this project is available in the Elevated Water Tower Capital Improvement Project, according to city documents.
A farewell event is scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 26 at the water tower.
The decision to tear down the water tower comes after the tower was decommissioned from the water system in 2021, which means the city could no longer tap its utility fund for maintenance.
In 2018, annual inspections of the city’s storage tanks showed that the Fighting Farmers Tower had significant corrosion and structural issues that needed to be addressed, according to the city. The planned Texas Department of Transportation expansion of the I-35E right of way showed to be encroaching on the legs of the tank, making future spacing requirements for rehabilitation difficult.
In 2020, the city established the working group, which included Lewisville High School alumni, city staff, an LHS student and LHS faculty representatives. Their job, as directed by the City Council, was to consider options for a highly visible landmark that included the Fighting Farmers presence in some manner.
The group proposed rehabilitating the tower as a landmark. The estimated cost was $722,000. That cost was determined to be too high, and the council determined that the tower would need to be demolished. The Fighting Farmer mascot will be incorporated into concrete murals as part of the TxDOT's expansion project for I-35E, according to the city.
