Jill Schramm/MDN A 1.5-million-gallon water tower has been erected in southwest Minot and should be operable by spring, once underground piping is completed.

Construction of a 1.5-million-gallon water tower is nearing completion in southwest Minot.

The tank itself is finished but underground piping to the tank and the adjacent booster station is still needed, along with site work, including grading seeding and fencing, according to Dan Jonasson, Public Works director for the City of Minot. The city estimates the tank will go online sometime in the spring of 2022.

That would be ahead of the original completion date in the contract of August 2022.

Landmark Structures erected the tower for just under $4 million on land purchased by the city in 2006 along 37th Avenue Southwest, west of the hospital construction site. The water tower will accommodate growth in southwest Minot.

The tower has been nominated for Tank of the Year in an online voting contest sponsored by Tnemec Company Inc., which specializes in high-performance coatings and linings to protect surfaces and structures from corrosion. The City of Minot tank currently is among the top five in the contest. People can vote until 5 p.m. Friday at http://tankoftheyear.tnemec.com/.