Hoxie receives grant to bring water tower up to code

HOXIE, Ark. (KAIT) - The City of Hoxie’s water tower will receive a new coat of paint.

The tower will be repainted after the inside and outside are sandblasted to bring it up to code.

Renovations to the tower are thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture totaling $400,000.

Mayor Dennis Coggins said an issue with lead paint caused the tower not to meet the code.

“The inspector found out that we had lead on the outside. As far as I know, it’s on the outside, not on the inside,” Coggins said. “He’s going to sandblast the outside and inside, repaint it and bring it up to code.”

The mayor explained that the city would be without the water tower due to the work, but citizens shouldn’t notice that much of a difference.

“It’s going to take probably around 30 days that we’re going to be without a water tower. We’ll be hooked straight into the pipe,” he said. “The people will never be without water, but it won’t be going through the water tower, but we might suffer a little with pressure.”

Coggins stressed that city water customers are not in danger from the lead paint, but the work must be done to meet requirements.

Work should start soon.

Copyright 2022 KAIT. All rights reserved.