Water Towers

The Town of Apex owns and maintains three elevated water tanks, also called 'towers', designed to provide adequate water storage and water pressure. The town's fourth tower is now under construction at Pleasant Park.

When a community lacks natural landmarks (like mountains, rivers, etc.), the iconic features for that community tend to be buildings and other man-made structures. In Apex, the water tower located at the corner of Hunter Street and Salem Street is one of those icons. Other iconic features include the downtown Apex streetscape, and town-owned buildings like The Depot and the Halle Cultural Arts Center.

For decades, the water towers have been a part of the Town’s skyline, and are often photographed or used in other graphics. Our community branding study, conducted in 2019, showed a strong community connection with the water towers.

Tower Lighting

The town’s Electric Utilities Department installed programmable lighting on the Hunter Street water tower in 2019. The legs, belly, and ‘necklace’ of the tower can all be lit using different colors and effects. 

The default color, which can be seen between dusk and dawn each day, is a soft white. A lighting policy was established to guide the Town’s efforts to enable the water towers to provide a pleasant public art display and, through communications efforts, provide a display to mark holidays, days of remembrance, observances, and other noteworthy events, both past and present, of significance to and for the benefit of the Apex community.

Tower Maintenance 

Over time, weather wears away the paint on a tower. So our towers are repainted on a regular schedule, generally every 8-10 years. Special paint is used to protect the metal from UV rays and other factors, and ultimately extends the longevity of the structure. 

History of Tower Design

Each time the towers are repainted, the town has the opportunity to either keep the current design, or opt for something new.

1970's

Sometime after the official adoption of ‘The Peak of Good Living’ as the town’s slogan in the early 1970's, the towers were painted with the design pictured below. This design was also used on printed items, including the town’s letterhead and envelopes. However, there was no wide-spread use of this graphic.

2016 Logo Contest

That design remained on the tower until 2016, when Town Council directed staff to hold a public contest for a new logo. Around 100 entries were received through that contest, with artists ranging from elementary school students to professional graphic designers. Entries were judged by a committee, with the top five designs presented to Town Council. The winning entry, by Apex resident Dena McMurdie, is the design shown in the photo below. This design remains on the Tingen tank, which is scheduled for repainting in 2026 (after the completion of the Pleasant Park tank).

2024 Update

The towers were again scheduled for maintenance and repainting in fall 2024. At that time, a different design was applied – the town's logo that was adopted in 2020 during the community branding study. This logo is also seen on the town's wayfinding signage, vehicles, apparel, and more.