In April, Portland Water Bureau industrial painters climbed up 84-feet to reach the interior of the Denver Tank. Once inside, the painters carefully hand-lifted all of their equipment through the tank’s 84-foot intake pipe. 

With the support of operating engineers, the painters then cleaned the interior of the tank as part of Operation’s Periodic Maintenance Program. 

The team of painters and operating engineers were also joined by additional engineers who assessed the condition of the tank's coatings, structures, and safety equipment. 

More About the Denver Tank
Located in N Portland’s Overlook neighborhood, the Denver Tank stands 138-feet tall, stores three million gallons of water, and provides fire flow protection to all of Swan Island.

Built in 1961, the 55-year-old tank is Portland’s largest column supported elevated tank. Most column supported elevated tanks have a center column and one outer ring of columns. 

The Denver Tank has two concentric rings of columns and a center column.