The pressure is rising in Mandeville. At least it will if plans to acquire a second water tower succeed.

The city of 15,000 currently has one water tower in the western half of the city that has provided sufficient water pressure thus far.

However, Mayor Eddie Price and others are ready to address the issue of erecting a second tower before it becomes a problem. “I don’t know that it’s a necessity right now,” Price said. “But if we don’t look at it now, others are going to have to several years from now.”

In the last few years, the city has made strides with replacing the obsolete sewerage and water lines across the city using the latest technique in pipe repair, Insituform.

Getting the water tower installed would be the culmination of that work.

With the population booming, Price sees the construction of another water tower inevitable.

“A water tower creates water pressure,” Price said. “People use that every day to flush toilets and take baths.”

The construction of another water tower would also lower insurance rates for Mandeville residents, Price said, by bettering the current fire rating held by Fire Protection District 4.

Even with the improvements the city has already made to its water system, another water tower would increase pressure and storage capacity even more, FPD4 Chief Rick Tassin said.

“I feel very good about the system in Mandeville because of the engineering and practical ideas used with the new water mains,” Tassin said. “I know some residents may not like the idea of another tower, but from a fire protection standpoint, it’s a plus.”

Tassin said his department will undergo another rating this December, but if a new water tower is installed, he said they could request a re-evaluation to possibly improve their rating even further.

Price said the construction is still in the early discussion phase, and they have yet to decide where it would be placed. But he’s hoping to position it on the east side of the city, possibly on state property out of sight.

The current water is about 160 feet high, Price said, adding the size of a possible new water tower is still uncertain.