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City of Dowagiac - Riverside Standpipe Rehabilitation

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Project Information

We have approved a contract with George Kountoupas Painting Company to rehabilitate our Riverside Standpipe storage tank. This will include repainting inside and out, making structural repairs, and installing a mixer to improve water quality.

The Riverside Standpipe has been temporarily removed from the water system for this work. The contractor has mobilized and will complete work around the end of November 2025.

Contact

P&N Engineer
Ernie Sarkipato, Project Manager
616-364-8491 (Company Main)

P&N Construction Observer
TBD

Contractor
George Kountoupas Painting Company
Cary Kountoupas
313-388-9400 (Company Main)

City of Dowagic
Matt Newton
Director of Public Services
269-782-2195

November 26, 2025

Progress Report:

The Riverside Standpipe is nearly full of water after a week of pumping. It takes a long time to make an extra 920,000 gallons!

Upcoming Work:

Disinfection will continue through the Thanksgiving weekend, and testing to confirm water quality will occur after.
November 18, 2025

Progress Report: The painting contractor is all done at the Riverside Standpipe!

Upcoming Work: The remaining work on this project is to disinfect the tank and confirm water quality. There may be brief periods of water overflowing the storage tanks in the system as crews work to fill the tanks and complete the project.
November 3, 2025

Progress Report:

The contractor has been working on painting inside the tank but recently returned to the exterior to complete the remaining work during a patch of good weather.

Upcoming Work:

Work will resume inside the tank.
October 20, 2025

Progress Report: The contractor continues to work on the outside of the tank as weather is acceptable. There are daily site visits from the engineering team to make sure the work is the best quality and to confirm temperature and humidity.

Upcoming Work: As the weather cools, the work will shift to the inside of the tank where heaters and dehumidifiers can control the work environment.

October 13, 2025

Progress Report: We are taking advantage of the great fall weather by focusing on the outside/exterior of the Riverside Standpipe. The existing paint is being removed by a robotic sandblasting machine, and primer is applied soon after.

Upcoming Work: After the exterior coating has been applied, we will move to the inside/interior of the standpipe.
October 6, 2025

Progress Report:  The contractor has mobilized to the site and begun removing the old paint coating using a robotic blaster. The tank has been drained and isolated from the water system.

Upcoming Work:  This week you may see more of the paint coating being removed, including the “DOWAGIAC” logo. Don’t worry, we will be putting it back!