As the first step in a number of planned projects to rehabilitate Page’s deteriorating water and sewer infrastructure, Page City Council approved last Wednesday a $196,000 bid award for overdue maintenance on one the city’s water storage tanks.
Page currently utilizes two potable water storage tanks to supplement water received from four pumps at the Glen Canyon Dam. The largest tank can hold 3 million gallons of water, while the smaller of the two — and the one that will receive the makeover — can hold 1.5 million gallons.
Council awarded the bid to the Phoenix-based Pipeline Video Inspection, LLC (dba AIMS Coatings, LLC) for the project. The restoration process will involve draining the tank, blasting the old coating off and reapplying a new coat. Page Utility Enterprises General Manager Bryan Hill told council he expects the project to be complete before June.
According to Hill, industry standards dictate new coats should be applied to similar water storage tanks every 15 to 20 years, but Page’s smallest tank hasn’t received any such treatment since its inception in the 1980s.

The larger tank, on the other hand, has received one new coating in its lifetime, but is also overdue for a new one, Hill said.
Hill also noted that new pumps and motors have recently been implemented at the dam to supply Page’s drinking water, but said the switchgears and other components are outdated. Calling them “vintage” and “Frankenstein,” he said their replacement is likely the next project on the utility’s checklist.
The largest storage tank will then get its facelift following that project, he added.
During the smaller tanks recoating process this spring, it naturally won’t be able to store any water, and would therefore mean a temporary and unavoidable decrease in the city’s water storage margin.
However, Hill said the tanks are usually utilized when pumps at the dam go offline for any reason.
He recalled one time during his tenure as utility manger where two of the dam’s pumps were unable to be used and caused a bit of concern. He said Page was “glad to have that storage.”
Otherwise, the pumps are more than adequate to meet Page’s water demand, Hill told council members.
Hill concluded that Page also needs more water storage on the whole — an issue he said the utility will address in 2022.