Unveiling a serene scene suspended in the sky

In the skies overhead, 4-foot-tall insects and 14-foot-long birds flit and flutter over a serene meadow filled with milk thistle, lazy Susans and meadow violets. Towering over the landscape, the picturesque scene suspended in the sky welcomes and delights residents and passersby of the Four Seasons at Sea Oaks 55+ community in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey (Figure 1).

The idyllic 360-degree water tower mural — conceived by the Executive Director, Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent of the Little Egg Harbor Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) — was a welcoming surprise to the community. The team kept the design a secret until the last possible moment when applicators removed protective containment tarps, revealing the beginnings of the tranquil setting.

The project team’s attention to detail led to a group effort in precision color matching among the MUA, the mural painters, coatings applicator United Painters Inc., engineering firm Remington & Vernick Engineers and coatings supplier Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine. That effort paid off in the highly accurate, vibrant canary-yellow plumage of the American Goldfinches — not to mention the true-to-life violets, purples, oranges and blues of the other flora and fauna — that adorn the tower. This coordinated exercise and the tower’s decorative design helped the project win the 2025 Sherwin-Williams Water Impact Award.

Conveniently aligned with the MUA’s desire for secrecy on the design, the water tower was shrouded in containment tarps for much of its rehabilitation (Figure 2). The coverings were needed to prevent dust, debris and overspray from surface preparation and coating activities from drifting onto nearby homes and vehicle traffic.

During the first several weeks of the restoration, locals had no idea the original plain, sky blue tower with navy blue “Little Egg Harbor MUA” lettering would soon transform into a meadow landscape teeming with plants and wildlife.

Even when the tarps came down, the ultimate design was still a mystery. The familiar sky blue had been restored on the top of the pedesphere elevated storage tank, but the tower’s cylindrical support pedestal and flared conical base were now a grass green color.

As mural artist Peter Goetzinger and his son Orion began to draw freehand outlines of birds, insects and plant life, a larger-than-life, paint-by-numbers canvas slowly revealed the forthcoming picturesque scene (Figures 3 and 4).

“We wanted to literally keep the colorful design under wraps until the last moment,” said Earl Sutton, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Little Egg Harbor MUA. “When the scene began to take shape and the first bird went up, excitement started flying over social media.”

The final, colorful design features seven vibrant male American Goldfinches, New Jersey’s state bird, in flight and perched on black-eyed Susan and milk thistle plants. Multiple dragonflies and monarch and spring azure butterflies also dance in the mural’s sky. Varied shades of green grasses and purple violets, the state’s flower, complete the scene (Figures 5 and 6).

The MUA wanted to ensure the colors used on the tower’s wildlife were as accurate as possible, as any significant variation from reality could have made the mural look cartoonish.

This attention to detail required a concerted effort among the design team, painters, engineers and Sherwin-Willliams. The local coatings store mixed multiple samples, preparing panels for review and making minute adjustments when hues weren’t quite right.

With 21 customized colors gracing the tank, each match was critical, with the goldfinch yellow being the most difficult to get right.

“We printed a lot of photos to compare to ensure everything was as vibrant and realistic as possible,” said Michael DiFrancia, Superintendent and License Operator with Little Egg Harbor MUA. “That led to multiple tries on the yellow coloring to the point we were joking that the only way to get it right was to bring in a bird.”

Placement of the wildlife was also a key consideration. The artists and MUA team took care to view the structure from afar multiple times to ensure the dramatic scenery would be visible from key vantage points (Figure 7).

“We wanted the Sea Oaks community’s clubhouse, golf course and every house to have a good view of the inspiring artwork,” said John Mulvihill, Deputy Superintendent with Little Egg Harbor MUA.

About 23 years had passed since the 500,000-gallon tower’s last exterior recoating, leaving the “blue-ice” colored tower faded and rust-worn. Transforming the tower to its new landmark status required removing the deteriorated coatings and then building the new colorful canvas one layer at a time.

For the exterior, applicators from United Painters first applied the single-component, moisture-curing urethane zinc rich primer Corothane I GalvaPac 1K from Sherwin-Williams. Before spraying the entire tank with an intermediate coat of the anti-corrosion coating Macropoxy 646, they stripe-coated weld seams across the structure to ensure adequate protection of sharp edges, corners and welds.

For the tank’s topcoat and nature-themed artwork, United Painters and the artists applied Acrolon Ultra. The high-performance acrylic polyurethane provides long-term ultraviolet protection and excellent resistance to corrosion and weathering for high visibility structures.

“Using the glossy topcoat really helped the colorful mural pop,” said Trace Dittenhofer, Water/Wastewater Services Team Lead for Remington & Vernick Engineers, which managed the project and finalized the tank’s coatings specifications. “Little Egg Harbor MUA was also very keen on maximizing the lifespan of its infrastructure, which this coating system supports, to save on future maintenance costs.”

Restoring the inside of the tank was less exciting — but no less important — than painting the exterior. Applicators applied a thick epoxy lining system to ensure a safe, clean water supply for local businesses and residents.

Applicators used the same Corothane Galvapac 1K primer as the exterior and then applied a stripe coat of Sherplate 600 to all weld seams. They then applied a thick topcoat of the high-build and edge-retentive Sherplate PW lining to ensure a long service life.

The lining’s service life was an important factor when selecting the exterior coating system, as Little Egg Harbor MUA wanted to align maintenance cycles for the interior and exterior of the tower.

“We will always try to do tanks in sequence by coating the inside and outside at the same time,” said Sutton. “Using the Acrolon Ultra finish coat for the exterior matched up with the longevity of the interior lining, allowing us to plan for maintenance activities on the same 15- to 20-year schedule or longer.”

The picturesque Sea Oaks water tower isn’t the first uniquely designed tank Little Egg Harbor MUA has recoated recently using products from Sherwin-Williams. The MUA’s nature-inspired Holly Lake Harbor standpipe features tall evergreen trees and a light blue sky that blend into the surrounding landscape. Its beachy Mystic Islands standpipe welcomes visitors to “The Gateway to Great Bay.” A third tower features the Pinelands Regional High School District’s Wildcat Pride slogan and mascot (Figure 8).

“We take a lot of pride in our newly refreshed water towers and look forward to upping our game for each one that’s feasible,” said Sutton. “And we may have even started a trend, as a nearby coastal town recently decorated one of its water towers as a beach ball.”