Water tower rehabilitation begins

By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS

The City of San Benito recently began rehabilitation work on the Freddy Fender water tower, marking the first phase of a two-tower water infrastructure improvement project throughout the city.

According to a City of San Benito press release, the project supports the city’s ongoing commitment to reliable water systems and long-term service for residents and businesses. Work on the Freddy Fender water tower was scheduled to begin the week of January 12, 2026, and is expected to be completed by early March.

Improvements include structural repairs, interior and exterior coatings, and aesthetic enhancements such as refreshed paint and updated logo elements. The Freddy Fender tower is one of the city’s most recognizable water towers for motorists driving along the interstate through and into San Benito.

“This is an exciting opportunity to rehabilitate our elevated storage tanks to serve the residents of San Benito for the next 20 years,” said San Benito City Manager Fred Sandoval. “This is another example of the Mayor and City Commission’s ongoing vision and commitment to high-quality water delivery and public service.”

Tanksco Inc. is performing the rehabilitation work, with engineering oversight by KLM Engineering Inc.

Once crews complete work on the Freddy Fender water tower and return it to service, the City will begin rehabilitating the Oscar Williams Road water tower. That phase of the project is expected to continue into early June.

The City of San Benito will provide updates to the community as the project progresses, according to the press statement.

These upgrades align with the City’s long-term infrastructure strategy and help ensure safe, reliable water storage for the San Benito community, the statement reads.

San Benito City leaders also announced this week that water pressure will be affected by work on the tower.

The upgrades for both towers cost $1.4 million, as budgeted by the City of San Benito. However, low water pressure will occur in residential and commercial properties.

The winter upgrades and the subsequent water pressure were planned purposely, Sandoval said.

“The rehabs have begun; the water levels are down due to the construction,” Sandoval said during a San Benito Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. “We ask that the public bear with us as we only have one water tower in service.”

Sandoval also said the city will experience periods of intermittent water pressure. “We chose to do this in the winter due to the least amount of water needs,” Sandoval said.

According to the City, both towers are elevated reservoirs: the Freddy Fender Tower stores 1 million gallons, and the Oscar Williams Road Tower stores 850,000 gallons.

They will each receive cleaning, repair, and painting. The metal, Sandoval said, will be replaced completely or repaired depending on its condition.

The commissioners will soon be voting on what new designs the tower will have.

Sandoval told commissioners they would need to decide on upgraded colors and logos, but made one important point – the Freddy Fender likeness will stay the same.

“We’re going to freshen it all up; it’s going to be blasted,” he said. “It’s going to be gone for a little while, but we can add or delete anything else the governing body wishes to be.”

The Freddy Fender Tower will cost $820,280, and the Oscar Williams Road Tower $648,000, according to the Tanksco bid that came in as the lowest of six companies early in December 2025.

Some bids came in as high as $3.2 million and $2.9 million.

At last month’s commission meeting, leaders viewed various images of each tower that showed major deterioration on and around the roof, wet access manway, balcony, shell ladder, vent and strobe lights.

These are images that are available on the city’s website that the public may view.

“The towers are in much need or repair, lots of years of deferred maintenance,” Sandoval said last month.

Mayor Ricardo Guerra remembers this being a disconcerting topic for years, adding recently that suggestions were made to repair each tower for $2 million, which was much more than the city had budgeted for.

Another recommendation had been to tear down the William Road Tower completely.