Time Machine: Bever Park Reservoir

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids' water system in 1920 involved pumping water from the water works plant beside the Cedar River directly into pipes for immediate use by the community.

There was no storage system, and peak usage often threatened to shut down overworked pumps.

The city council recruited Hjalmer F. Blomquist, assistant engineer of the St. Paul, Minn., municipal water system, to become Cedar Rapids' water works superintendent. He began his duties on Sept. 1, 1920.

He had barely gotten his feet wet on Nov. 12, when the large main leading from the water works to the network of mains that served the city broke, leaving the city without water for more than 24 hours.

That was the last time that happened. Blomquist put into motion his proposal that the city build a gravity distribution system focused on a large reservoir built on the city's highest point. The advantage of adding the reservoir to the city's water system would be uniform water pressure during high-use periods such as the hot summer months.

The hill he had in mind in Bever Park was the tallest in the city, rising 163 feet above the business district. Mayor J.F. Rall told the city council that the structure could be built into the top of the hill and covered over with dirt and vegetation, keeping the area's natural surroundings intact.

Blomquist's 7.5-million-gallon reservoir had concrete walls a foot-and-a-half thick and was about 18 feet high. He estimated the cost at between $200,000 and $300,000. In March, Cedar Rapids voters approved a $400,000 bond issue to build the reservoir, the pipelines to connect it with the business section of the city and branch feeders to parts of the city not yet served.

Excavation for the reservoir began in April.

Electric lighting equipment was installed at the site so that work could continue night and day. The removal of more than 13,000 cubic yards of dirt was nearly completed by August. Work crews still needed to level the bottom of the pit before erecting forms around the sides. At the same time the work of laying pipelines to transport water to all parts of the city progressed rapidly.

Concrete work began Aug. 30 on the floor of the reservoir. Work slowed when a rail strike made it difficult to ship gravel, but picked up again in late September.

Pouring of the huge circular concrete wall began at about 5 p.m. Oct. 12. The crews, divided into day and night shifts, poured a steady stream of concrete into the forms, nonstop, for two and a half days. An industrial film was made of the process.

The main part of the concrete work was done by Oct. 31. All that was left were two ventilating towers. When those were done, grading of the ground around the huge tank began. More than 3,500 cubic yards of dirt were banked against the tank.

As work was nearing an end at the hilltop site, the city council received bids on the logs that resulted from clearing trees from the hill. The logs could produce an estimated 10,000 feet of lumber, but the only bids received were for about $100. The council rejected those offers, saying it would use the wood as fence posts or fire wood before selling it for so little.

The reservoir went into operation on Feb. 7, 1923. It was 266 feet in diameter and 20 feet deep with a capacity of 8 million gallons of water. To give an idea of the immensity of the reservoir, an Olympic-size swimming pool holds 660,430 gallons of water.

After three months, everything was running smoothly.

'With the reservoir in operation the department is able to maintain 13-pound pressure for the business and industrial districts which is five pounds greater than it was under the old system,' reported The Gazette. 'Improved fire protection also results from the operation of the reservoir.'

The feeder system was completed that summer.

When Cedar Rapids suffered major flooding in 1929, knocking out the water plant, the reservoir provided basic water needs for three days. During a four-hour outage at the waterworks in 1957, the city again turned to the reservoir.

In May 1942, the city council decided to waterproof the cement slab roof to make sure no ground water seeped into the tank. Dirt was removed from the slab cover and any cracks were caulked.

In June, the final payment of $20,000 plus $475 interest was made on the 1922 bonds floated to construct the reservoir. Finance Commissioner Lou Burgus said the entire debt was paid from water works earnings.

The tank got its first scrubbing in 1948. It was scrubbed again in February 1964. It took 24 hours to drain the reservoir. It was then inspected and repaired. Refilling the tank took 72 hours.

In late summer 1971, a persistent leak developed. Temporary solutions included using sump pumps and a 20-foot standpipe until water usage levels declined enough to empty the tank without causing hardship to the city's residents.

The tank was drained in October. This time patching and repairs took 10 days to cure before the reservoir could be refilled. It was back in operation by Nov. 1.

Concern about leaks in the aging structure prompted an evaluation by Shive-Hattery Associates in spring 1977. The verdict was the reservoir could be successfully restored instead of replaced. The firm recommended repairs to all cracks and defects and the application of a protective waterproof coating. It also was recommended that trees within 20 feet of the reservoir's walls be removed to avoid additional cracking from tree roots. In November, the reservoir was drained for a three-month restoration project. It was back in service on Feb. 8. 1978.

Over the years, other, smaller reservoirs have been built to handle the water needs of a growing city, including the 4-million-gallon Chandler Hill reservoir on the southwest side of the city. All of those are made of steel and sit above ground.

The Bever Park reservoir still is in use.