Featured Video: Water Tower Collapse Compilation July 19, 2019 By Jill Wallitschek Distribution demolition, distribution, tanks, towers, water tank, water tower 0 Online trends can seem bizarre, but browsing the web is worth the effort when you stumble upon videos likes these. If you’ve ever searched for distribution maintenance videos on YouTube, you may have already encountered water tower tipping videos. Some of them have reached millions of viewers. Once you watch a few for yourself, you’ll realize why. There are many reasons a water system might want to remove an existing water tower. Older towers have a higher probability of failing an inspection or causing safety issues to the community. When that happens, it may be easier to just remove the tower provided it’s no longer necessary for the system. If a system has already connected to a newer tower, the costs to maintain redundant towers may drive the incentive for removal. Other times, communities might remove a tower due to damage incurred from a natural disaster or because they want to open the property for other uses. Only a very small number of tanks are tipped over like the ones in this week’s featured video. Collapsing a tower is a dangerous job only performed in wide open areas with experienced professionals. Generally most tanks are dismantled with a crane instead. Before removal the site may undergo an environmental review. Then if the tower is still in use, it will have to be disconnected from the current water and power supply. After putting out a bid and selecting a contractor, the system will coordinate the rest of the planning with them. Crane dismantling involves cutting the tower into pieces with a torch and lowering those pieces down with a crane. Often times any leftover steel can be sold to a local scrap yard. So even though tipping a tower is much less common, please enjoy this week’s featured video. It’s hard to look away once you start! Comments are closed.