Big things on tap in Brandon

A towering sight took shape in Brandon last week.

A new water tower was put in place near the intersection of Front Street and Nelson Avenue.

It will be painted a light cream color with dark red and brown accents. It will also include, of course, the name of the city, styled in the same font as the sign that welcomes visitors into town.

The old water tower will be dismantled and hauled away.

There’s much more to this project than visual appeal. It will provide residents with clean drinking water and better pressure.

Brandon received a $1,685,000 loan and a $957,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development’s water and environmental programs.

The money is being used to replace the water tower and make other improvements as well – replacing the city’s water treatment plant, rehabilitating a city well, and replacing a major portion of the city’s water distribution system.

Brandon will also install water meters next month as part of the project.

When completed, the city will have an improved back-up well, a full day’s worth of water storage, additional pressure and a safer treatment center, according to Jeremy Anderson of Design Tree in Alexandria, the engineering firm for the project.

Anderson said the work has been going well, with no major problems or change orders. He said a final walk-through will take place in July and if everything checks out, the new water system should be flowing before August 1.

Al Edenloff

Al Edenloff was born in Alexandria and later moved to Parkers Prairie where he graduated in 1979. While in high school, he wrote sports stories for the Parkers Prairie Independent. Al graduated from Moorhead State University with a degree in mass communication and started at the Echo Press as a summer intern in 1983. He worked as a reporter until 1990 when he was named editor. He's earned several writing and reporting awards from the Minnesota Newspaper Association (MNA) and the National Newspaper Association. He was presented with the Minnesota News Council's Journalism Accountability Award and is a three-time winner of the MNA's Herman Roe Editorial Writing Award. In his spare time, Al enjoys golfing, fishing, biking, watching sports, cooking and reading mystery novels.

Tags: local news, water tower, news, updates, brandon