On April 16, 1947 Innisfail Mayor W.H. Jackson officiated the grand opening of the town's magnificent water tower, which rose more than 100 feet, stored more than 71,000 gallons of water and was the life-giving pride of the community.Six decades later it was considered ìredundantî, a victim of modern-day progress. In the spring of 2007, the town demolished the historic structure.Jason Heistad, an Innisfail town councillor and an instructional assistant at Olds College, fought hard to preserve the water tower. He noted when the last grain elevators in town had been demolished a few years earlier the landscape of the community had changed forever. For him, the loss of the town's last prairie sentinel only added to the loss.ìI felt it was a piece of history you can't replace,î said Heistad. He noted a use could have been found for the tower, perhaps as a cellphone or Internet transmission receiver or a convenient locale to install security or scientific cameras. However, council was not prepared to invest funds and the tower was demolished.ìI had hoped I could save it. There were some options. I thought we could have done a lot of good with it,î said Heistad. ìJust because it is old and it is not being used there is always a way to repurpose such a structure.îThere were once hundreds and hundreds of municipal water towers dotting the western Canadian landscape. For much of the 20th century they were the sole source of water for countless prairie communities.Like the pioneer elevator they marked the location of human habitation. Water towers displayed the names and logos of towns and villages. Added to the vital role water towers played in the survival of pioneer communities was the symbol of prestige they carried for the towns' future hopes and dreams.And while pioneer grain elevators served as well-known and reliable landmarks with heights of between 70 and 80 feet, water towers were even taller - typically at around 120 feet, the height needed to pressurize water supply systems.In Western Canada, water towers were also constructed to serve the needs of factories and institutions, and they were built in a variety of architectural styles - from spheroids, to standpipes (cylindrical water storage tanks), as well as X and V-braced steel or wood structures built with either platformed, enclosed or roofed tops. Others were constructed with unique ornate bottle shaped tops, or built with lighthouse designs.Hundreds of uniquely designed octagonal water towers ñ usually red in colour - once adorned western Canadian railway stops to provide water for steam-powered trains. These structures today are considered the rarest of pioneer water tower relics, with only 25 still standing in Western Canada.Over the past 40 years municipal water towers lost their relevance due to the implementation of modern regional water lines. Ultimately these structures, standing noble and proud, became redundant.For many, they became eyesores and safety hazards as they rusted and rotted away. One by one they were toppled. Today there are less than 40 municipal water towers remaining in the province. In Central Alberta, most municipalities that once relied on water towers have summoned the wrecking ball. The only ones left standing are in Olds, Didsbury, Bowden, Red Deer, Eckville, Rimbey, Irricana, Torrington, Bashaw and Rocky Mountain House.And like the rapid disappearance of pioneer grain elevators in the past quarter century, the wholesale demolition of municipal water towers across the prairies has also triggered emotional controversies in many communities.In Torrington, its half-century-old water tower that rises 80 feet over the village, was decommissioned last year. A smaller one was built a few hundred metres west of Torrington, but some villagers are angry and concerned they will soon lose control of the management of their water supply.ìIf this is progress I don't want any part of it. I'll be moving,î said longtime Torrington resident Otto Kurta. He said the old water tower drew its supply from nearby water wells but there is a future provincial government plan to have water diverted from the Red Deer River through a new pipeline delivery system, a move he and other locals feel will ultimately quadruple their residential cost.But more importantly, the village's identity is vanishing. The old grain elevators are long gone and the rail line that once proudly went through Torrington has been torn out. The probable future loss of the old water tower is strike three.ìThis is why the village was dissolved. The grain elevators were knocked down and the rail line was torn up,î said Kurta. ìThe old water tower was a great symbol. Anybody who came to town and who wanted to go to the Gopher Hole Museum, we would just direct them to the old water tower.îMeanwhile, locals in Didsbury discovered a creative way to ensure its water tower, strategically located overlooking the municipal golf course, will always have a future. The 45- foot tall structure built in 1977 and holding 650,000 gallons of water is still used for the town's water supply. However, in the late 1990s the town was about to co-host the 1999 Alberta Seniors Games and locals were looking for creative ideas to add to the celebrations.Didsbury artist Ruth Jepson was retained to do something with the water tower, a highly visible but unsightly structure looming over a gorgeous recreational venue.ìIt was a grey concrete monstrosity. As the seniors games were coming up I thought it would be nice for it to be improved somewhat. I originally suggested each side should have something represented. On one side a golfer looking over the golf course, on another a ball player facing a ball diamond, and then a tennis player towards the tennis court, and finally on the west side horse riders.ìBut that was a big project and ultimately only the golfer was done.îIt took Jepson, now 78 years old, about 10 days to complete the golfer on the water tower. And today, despite the painting needing some touch-up work, the water tower is a beloved landmark in the town.The future of a few other Central Alberta water towers looks a bit brighter as well. In Bowden, the standpipe water tower has not been used for the town's water supply for more than 15 years but the locals have at least come to rely on it as a high point for improved Internet transmission.And in Red Deer, city officials finally made a decision in July that its famed grand old ìGreen Onionî will soon receive a desperately needed paint job.While the gigantic 132-foot tall municipal water tower, also known as the ìmushroomî, is no longer essential to the needs of local citizens, except functioning to supply pressure within the city's water system, there is a growing sense among citizens that to ever lose the structure would be like losing a friend.ìIt has been a symbol of Red Deer for more than 50 years. People can see it for miles, especially when you come into the city from the north,î said city historian Michael Dawe.The initiative to give the water tower a facelift is also good news for taxpayers because to demolish the half century-old Green Onion, which was the largest water spheroid in the world when opened in 1959, would cost Red Deer ìmillions,î said Dawe.But just as importantly, he added, there is a deep emotional attachment to the relic. And if there is some movement in the future by developers that the site would be better served with something else he believes the city's 91,000 citizens would never allow the landmark to be destroyed.ìThere would be a big controversy if it was demolished,î said Dawe. ìThe public works people I have talked to have a genuine fondness for it.îAs noble sentinels of yesteryear the remaining old towers, recently given reprieves, stand proudly like familiar friends from both the past and present.
