Michigan water tower a favorite to win 'Tank of the Year'

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 15:09:50 -0400

Numerous Midwest water towers are in contention for the 2026 People's Choice Tank of the Year contest held annually by Tnemec Company, inc. to celebrate the most innovative and creative water storage tanks in the United States.

Tank of the Year contest

Since 2006, Tnemec has held a contest to give water professionals and communities a way to share the stories behind tanks that have become local landmarks across North America.

"A water tower is often one of the most recognizable landmarks in a community, but behind it is an essential service that helps that community thrive," said Kevin Morris, Director of Water and Wastewater Sales at Tnemec Company, Inc. "People’s Choice gives communities an opportunity to celebrate their hometown pride and recognize the tanks that have become part of what makes their community home."

Tnemec invites the public to pick a favorite tank and crown the 2026 Tank of the Year. Voters may submit one vote per active email address.

The tank with the most votes will be named the 2026 People’s Choice winner on Oct. 19. That winner will then join 11 other finalists in consideration for the 2026 Tank of the Year, which a Tnemec committee of water tank enthusiasts plans to announce on Oct. 23.

All finalists and nominees will be featured in Tnemec’s 2027 water tank calendar, with the Tank of the Year winner featured in January.

Michigan

Several Michigan water towers are in contention for this year's contest, with the tank in South Haven currently ranked as the third-best tank in the contest, just behind Detroit Lakes, Minnesota and Staunton, Virginia.

The full list of Michigan water tanks that have been nominated include:

Bay City
Benton Charter Township
Gwinn
Saginaw
Saint Clare
South Haven

Minnesota

Minnesota has a handful of water towers nominated for Tank of the Year. Detroit Lakes leads the way for the state and is currently favored to finish in second place.

The list of the water tanks in contention for Minnesota include:

Burnsville
Center City
Conger
Detroit Lakes
Mound
North Branch
Prior Lake
Sauk Rapids
Stillwater
St. Paul

Illinois

While not having a tank currently favored in the top three for the contest, Illinois has a decent number of nominated water towers in this year's contest. Check out the full list right here:

Cahokia Heights
Farmington
Geneseo
Geneva
Ladd
Maquette Heights
Mason City
New Holland
North Aurora
Pocahontas
Roscoe
Sparland
Westmont

Wisconsin

Wisconsin may have the largest number of water towers up for nomination in the entire Midwest, maybe even the country, with 21 total water towers in contention (aside from maybe Iowa that has 26). Here's the full list of the below:

Appleton
Burlington
Caledonia
Elkhorn
Florence
Green Bay
Jackson
Junction City
Kellnersville
Lake Geneva
Little Chute
Madison
McFarland
Monona
Oconomowoc
Oconto
Oneida
Siren
Waynakee
West Baraboo
Whitehall

Ohio

Here's the full list of every water tower nominated in Ohio:

Akron
Blanchard
Columbus
Mason
Piqua
Wooster

Indiana

Check out the three water tanks nominated for Indiana:

Brownsburg
Fort Wayne
Noblesville

Iowa

There are 26 total water towers nominated for Iowa, check out the full list of them here:

Agency
Altoona
Ankeny
Burlington
Cedar Rapids
Centerville
Coggon
Coulter
Diagonal
Donnellson
Eldridge
Grinnell
Hornick
Iowa City
Keokuk
Long Grove
Mechanicsville
Minden
Northwood
Palmer
Percival
Shellsburg
Urbana
West Des Moines
Winterset
Winthrop

North Dakota

Only two water towers were nominated for North Dakota:

Grafton
St. Michael

South Dakota

Just like its northern neighbor, South Dakota only had two nominations:

Kadoka
Yankton

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