While I was looking down on the city for some of the buildings I visited I was mezmerized by how many wooden water tanks I saw. They are on every rooftop and most of them stand out like a round peg on a square hole.
The reason for the water tanks is that the water company does not have enough pressure to push water up past the sixth floor. the tank is fed with pumps in the basement and supplies gravity fed pressure to the building.
Even though this technology is from the early 1800’s they have not really come out with a more economical system so the two companies that make the tanks, Rosenwach Tank and Isseks Brothers, continue to make around 300 tanks a year forthe last 100 years.
Most tanks hold around 10,000 gallons and can be filled within 3 hours. They are usually made of wood because it insulates the water in the winter. Each tank cost around $30,000 to build and will last 30-35 years. Apparantly the ones on the west side take more of a beating than the east side of the island.
the water tanks were quite facinating to me and Melek was making fun of me becuase I kept commenting on them, but i though you guys might finding it interesting also. I would love to hear what you think of them.
