Thousands of Rt. 161 commuters passing through Licking County have watched for the past year as a concrete silo grew out of the ground and then sprouted a mushroom-like tank at the very top.
And on Thursday, a handful of them and a few dozen dignitaries stepped inside the silo for speeches celebrating the $6.26 million structure on a hilltop near the Rt. 161 intersection with Rt. 310, and what it means for growth and development in western Licking County.
There was coffee, a plate of cookies and, of course, bottled water.
And there were a few jokes, every word of which echoed 155 feet from bottom to top inside the silo structure that holds the tank – a metal tank filled with 750,000 gallons of water that soon will flow into pipes in western Licking County.
“Seen any leaks, Jim?” said every other dignitary with a laugh as they approached Jim Roberts, executive director of the Licking Regional Water District, which provides water and sewer service in western Licking County.
In fact, there was not a single leak visible from that massive tank or the many pipes and valves – nothing that would mar this celebration on a crisp, fall day with bright sunshine and a cloudless, brilliant blue sky.
“I’ve never been to a ribbon-cutting for a water tower,” said Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb, who has been in the job for almost 22 years.
Roberts acknowledged that it’s “not typical to do a ribbon-cutting for a water tower,” but he, Bubb and others who spoke during the brief dedication ceremony on Nov. 6 said the very visible tower on this increasingly busy highway is a symbol of planning and preparation for growth and development in the region.
And Roberts said there is more to come from Licking Regional Water, formerly known as Southwest Licking Community Water and Sewer District, because it made a commitment to state and local leaders that it would be ready to serve the growing area – especially Jersey Township and the Rt. 161 corridor.
“This water tower is unique, in that it will improve service so some of our legacy members, primarily Pataskala and Harrison Township, but it also provides system upgrades to help us service our newer partners in Jersey and St. Albans townships,” Roberts said. “This is why we feel this facility warrants a celebration of its opening today.”
Licking Regional Water District is working on new facilities in the Pataskala area and between Kirkersville and Hebron in Union Township, and it is still waiting for approval to build a wastewater treatment plant in St. Albans Township near Alexandria and Granville – a site where it also plans a future water treatment plant.
With the name Jersey Township stenciled on two sides of the tank, it is seen as both a point of pride and a growth management tool by township trustee Dan Wetzel.
In January 2025, the support structure was in place, and the tank was being welded together so that it could be hoisted to the top of the silo. 
New pipes at the base of the water tower’s silo-like support structure carry water in and out of the tank, sending it to customers in western Licking County. 
Jersey Township Trustee Dan Wetzel said access to water and sewer service will help the fast-growing township next door to New Albany manage growth. 
This is the view from inside the silo, looking up toward the structure on which 750,000 gallons of water stands ready for customers in Jersey Township and the Rt. 161 corridor. 
A bulk water station stands near the new water tower. It’s available to contractors and others who haul water to industrial sites for dust control or such things as filling swimming pools.
“Good, continued growth and development is the goal,” he said. “We’ll be able to control the development in the way we want to with water and sewer lines in place.”
Bubb amplified Roberts’ point about infrastructure investment by saying that during the past decade, the Licking County commissioners have invested more than $44 million in federal and local dollars in about a dozen water and sewer projects. The projects addressed critical needs where older systems were failing or to build new facilities to meet current and future demands as the county grows.
“Intel changed the game,” Bubb said about the tech giant’s decision to build a computer-chip manufacturing campus in Licking County, “but it’s not about Intel.”
It’s about investing in the future of Licking County, he said, and this new water tower on a hill is a metaphor for that investment.
Bubb said that while “most people don’t care about a water tower” and take for granted that when they turn on the faucet, water flows out, he hopes they pause for a moment during their 70 mph trip past the tank to appreciate the years of planning and millions of dollars that go into providing them with water.
Alan Miller writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.