This water tower was a true water sphere. Not very tall, but notice the wonderful circularity of its dome. The tower was nicely maintained with very-well-done ghostly white for its mantle. This photo also gives a rare glimpse of the maintenance and access ports above a water tower, something that only birds and people in planes can spot.

Doink! The fallen tower has landed on the cement pipes. Better get that backhoe to clean things up.

Nj.com “Veteran police officer found dead”

Reader Greg Pyne sends this photo of a lovely-but-rusting water sphere spotted along the highway near Baltimore Maryland. Greg writes: “On the way back to Baltimore today, we noticed this poorly maintained water sphere just north of exit 8 of the New Jersey Turnpike, near the community of Twin Rivers. Perhaps some sort of fundraiser could be held to help restore this water sphere to its original glory. After all, while it may not be the WTWS, it still deserves to maintain its dignity. ”

We fully support the sentiment. A beautiful tower but in need of a paint job. Perhaps some mobile phone antenna and a light beacon will make the “Big N” loved again.

Notice some nice color bands on the bottom half of the photo. Brown, beige, and green. Notice gray sky and gray tower on the top half.

The sphere is visible in the center of the photo. Ponds of the Kawameeh swamp border the left and top of the tower. Route 22 and the Garden State Parkway border the bottom. Light could cover obscure many of the houses, but the WTWS shines through clearly.

Enjoy this rare aerial sighting and the rest of 2013.

Indeed, the WTWS survives another tumultuous year. How true that the mighty WTWS can survive a hurricane and yet still provide clean fresh water. An alternative scenario in which the hurricane blows over the WTWS would be a calamity. Residents would have to import water in plastic bottles or even drink from the Kawameeh swamp. Next they would be wearing fur skins, eating raw corn, and hunted down by gorillas on horseback.

As stated on the new billboard, “I’m not so easily replaced. Only Tap Water Delivers.” The graphic on the billboard shows an outline of the state of New Jersey suspended in a drop of water. This image is evocative of the master/slave relationship between the WTWS and the residents of New Jersey. The WTWS controls the water supply and the residents are compelled to do the bidding of the WTWS. The benevolent tower is our leader and protector.

The water tower is a very unique and odd shape. This site has often discussed the difference between water spheres and water spheroids, but this one is a completely odd-duckling. It’s a composite shape of two differing parts. Its top is taller than it is wide. It is not a sphere or spheroid, rather is appears to be a sphere with a cylindrical mid section. In other words, take a sphere, bisect it horizontally, and add a cylinder in the middle. It’s a beaut. Go see it near Wimberley, Texas.

More views and geographic location is available from Google Maps.

While this blog and its author expressed admiration for the water tower in Erwin, it still remained to be seen at the time of the interview whether the tower was a water sphere or something else. Most companies have abandoned the manufacture of water spheres for various reasons. The Star Ledger article cited the manufacturer’s use of the word “hydrosphere” as a possible competitor. Colloquial use of hydro sphere, water sphere, or water tower made this issue somewhat opaque.

Recently, Steve Tysinger’s Panoramio feed featured a photograph of the Erwin, NC water tower, and the facts became clear. As one can see in the photo, the Harnett Country water tower is very nice, but it is not a water sphere. You can see from the squashed pillow profile, that the top of the tower is in fact a spheroid, symmetrical in east and west axes, but less pronounced in bottom to top axis.

It is a beautiful tower and a very good photograph. However, the World’s Tallest Water Sphere still resides in Union, New Jersey.