A massive new water tower is rising over Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, about three hours northwest of the Twin Cities, and it's designed to hold up to 1.5 million gallons of water once finished this fall. The project, featured in a recent Water Tower Wednesday segment from KSTP, includes a photo submitted by Monica Goeson showing the structure under construction. City officials say the new tower will stand 127 feet tall.
According to the City of Detroit Lakes, the Detroit Lakes Public Utilities Commission and City Council have approved the tower's design, and the utility has been authorized to advertise for bids. The city projects the tower itself will cost $8.3 million, while a separate account from the same reporting describes the broader undertaking as a $9.9 million project financed through a low-interest loan from the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority. Landmark Construction Co. submitted the winning $8.3 million bid to build the new tower and tear down both the existing tower and a smaller standpipe tower across the lake, according to dl-online.com.
Foundation Work And The Big Lift
Construction crews secured the new tower on 116 steel piles, each driven at least 80 feet into the ground, the outlet reports. Workers then began building a poured-concrete pedestal to support the steel tank above it, with that hollow pedestal rising at a rate of about eight feet a day using jump-form construction techniques, per the same account.
The most visible milestone came on April 13, 2026, when crews lifted the tower's steel bowl into place in a process that took about two hours. That bowl alone weighs approximately 320,000 pounds, not counting the roof, the outlet notes. Once complete, the new tower will be 27 feet taller than the current one, which stands about 100 feet high and holds roughly 1 million gallons, compared to the new tank's 1.5-million-gallon capacity.
More Pressure, More Coverage
Detroit Lakes officials expect the added height and volume to deliver about 10 pounds per square inch of additional water pressure across the system. The new tower is also designed to serve the entire city, including areas south of the lake, unlike the current setup. In June, contractors planned to install a new water main connecting the water treatment plant to the tower site, according to the same reporting.
Timelines for finishing the project have varied across reports. The city's own materials once estimated completion in late 2025 or the first half of 2026, while dl-online.com described a target of late spring or early summer of the following year, noting that warm weather could allow coating and painting to wrap up sooner. A report from lakesarearadio.net estimated finalization by summer 2026, while dl-online.com separately reported the tower is expected to pass testing and become fully operational by November 2026. KSTP's more recent segment describes the tower as set to be completed this fall.
What Happens To The Old Tower
Once the new tank passes its required testing, the existing water tower will be drained, shut off and dismantled section by section, according to dl-online.com's reporting. Funding for the overall project is being handled through the Public Facilities Authority's low-interest loan program for municipalities, per the city's own materials. For now, residents driving past the lake can watch the new structure continue to take shape as crews finish work on what will be a taller water tower than the existing one.
