Last Wednesday representatives from the city of Forks, USDA Rural Development, Gray and Osborne, Inc., and T. Bailey Inc. signed an agreement to proceed with the recoating project of two of the cities water tanks.

T. Bailey of Anacortes was the low bidder for the project at $1,556,351.13. Four contractors bid on the project with the highest bid coming in at $2,177,595. Gray and Osborne are the consulting engineers on the project and the city was approved for a loan for the project through the USDA.

The tanks are getting up in years and the rehab will extend the life of both tanks. The interior and exteriors will be coated during the project that is expected to be completed by next May. One tank is one million gallons and the other is 750,000 gallons. The tanks will be done one at a time and will be taken offline one at a time during the project. There will be no interruption of water service to city water customers during the project.

In addition to the coating, the tanks will also undergo roof vent replacement, minor electrical work, and miscellaneous improvements.

The 750,000 gallon tank was built in 1968 and the 1 MG tank was built in 1978.