COCOA, Fla. – The votes are in: Cocoa's 156-foot-tall landmark water tower has been crowned the 2015 Tank of the Year according to News 6 partner Florida Today.
More than 20,000 people voted in an online competition that selected Cocoa's water tower for its artwork of three American flags, its importance to Brevard County and challenges in maintaining the structure which constantly faces corrosion, according to Kansas City company Tnemec.
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Tnemec, the host of the popular Tank of the Year contest, is a manufacturer of industrial coating systems. Votes were accepted from the public during the contest.
“The 1.5-million gallon tank was built in 1957 to supply drinking water to NASA’s growing space program," Doug Hansen, Director of Water Tank Market for Tnemec, said in a release. “The water tower became a community landmark after Old Glory was painted on the tank in 1976 to commemorate the nation’s bicentennial. Tnemec is proud to have its coatings associated with this iconic project for so many years.”
Cocoa's tower was among more than 200 nominated tanks for this year's competition, eventually making it into the top 12. The only other Florida city to be a finalist this year was Plant City.
The legged tank has sustained its patriotic theme over the past 40 years thanks to a series of renovations designed to fight the Space Coast's salty, coastal environment. Tnemec coatings were used on the Cocoa tower in 1991, 2003 and again in 2014.
The $810,000 refurbishing job in 2014 which took nearly a year to complete left the tower poised for the competition.
The tank will be featured on the cover of Tnemec’s 2016 water tank calendar.