HAMMOND | The city is building a huge new storage tank near downtown to ensure a reliable flow of Lake Michigan water through changing climatic conditions.

The project includes a 6 million-gallon ground-level tank and adjacent park at the corner of Hohman Avenue and Michigan Street.

Maintaining water flow during the winter months wasn't a problem in the days when the surface of Lake Michigan was covered with sheets of ice in January and February.

But now that the water stays clear even through freezing temperatures, ice crystals periodically clog the intake lines half a mile out in the lake, requiring temporary shut-downs of the system, said Edward Krusa, Water Department chief executive officer.

The $4.7 million project will ensure uninterrupted flows of fresh water for Hammond and the 15 communities in Illinois and Indiana which buy water from the city, Krusa said.

About half of the 7.5-acre site will be covered by the 30-feet-tall concrete tank, according to the development plan, which will be built on the eastern side of the parcel, with a 150-foot green space buffer along Michigan Street.

"You'd be surprised how attractive these concrete tanks can be," Krusa said.

And cost-effective too: the city's three above-ground steel tanks, which hold a combined 4.5 million gallons of water, each costs $500,000 to paint every three to five years, said Krusa.

The park, which will be developed as a joint venture with the city's Urban Enterprise Association, is on land once occupied by Hammond's first City Hall and its Carnegie-funded public library, which were demolished more than 50 years ago.

Hammond sells drinking water to Dyer, Griffith, Highland, Munster and Whiting in Indiana, and the Illinois communities of Burnham, Calumet City, Chicago Heights, Lansing, Lynwood and South Holland.

By agreement with Hammond, Chicago Heights also provides water to Ford Heights, Glenwood, South Chicago Heights and Thornton in Illinois.