What color will Mount Prospect's water tower be?

Mount Prospect's largest and perhaps most important resident will get a makeover this spring.

The village board this week approved painting and cleaning the elevated water tower along Northwest Highway, first erected in 1955.

The job will cost about $800,000 and consist of draining the tower's water and painting both the inside and outside, said Glen Andler, director of public works.

"The last time we did this was in 1994," he said. "The entire tower will be covered with a large canvas so that the paint doesn't get on cars or homes nearby."

It's also possible the tower could get a new exterior look.

"Well, that's always a subject for discussion," Andler said. "Rosemont's tower has the Rose, Randhurst has the decals. We'll see."

The tower is currently light blue but it's been dressed up for special occasions. It was painted gold for the village's 50th anniversary in 1967 and red, white and blue for the nation's bicentennial in 1976.

The tower holds 1 million gallons of water, said Village Manger Michael Janonis.

Mount Prospect residents hold that huge tube of metal very dear to their hearts, he said.

"In the 1980s there was talk of moving the tower closer to the public works building at Central and Busse," Janonis said. "But there was a such an outcry from residents, it never happened. People consider it a landmark."

While there are eight other water tanks in Mount Prospect, the Northwest Highway tank is the only elevated one. Its most important job is to regulate water pressure, Andler said.

"When there is a large change of pressure, we need to absorb that," he said. "The elevated tower provides that cushion."

The project will take six to eight weeks. Water and sewer fees will pay for the project, which is part of the village's annual capital improvement plan.