The 2013 Tnemec Tank of the Year has been awarded and the City of Mt. Vernon, Ill., was crowned the winner. The city’s impressive water tower includes a vivid, intricate wrap-around motif and tagline that reads, “Creativity Redefined.”

The elevated water tank represents a proud town in the midst of an important change. The spheroid-style tank’s design, consisting of multicolored circles and spirals against a bright white tank, helps it stand out from the landscape and Tnemec coatings helped to make this stunning tank a monument of “creativity” for years to come. 

Since 2006, Tnemec has celebrated the innovative and creative uses of its coatings on water tanks with the Tank of the Year contest. Nominations for the annual contest are accepted from the beginning of the year until October, when the contest ends. 

This year, for the first time ever, Tnemec let the people have their hand in picking the finalists for the contest and the resulting support was beyond expectation. All tanks — more than 200 nominations — were voted on by the public and, after more than 10,000 votes, the public narrowed the search down to 12. Once the top 12 tanks were picked, a panel of water tank enthusiasts deliberated and chose one tank to be crowned the 2013 Tank of the Year. 

Is your water tower in need of an upgrade or “face-lift”? Check out this year’s Tnemec Tank of the Year winner and all the runner-ups for some great ideas.