CASSOPOLIS — School colors are often the signature of institutional pride. Walk through East Lansing or Ann Arbor and one is sure to see shops and bars decorated with green and white or maize and blue. These colors can be so significant to a school’s identity that they do not need to be worn — the most popular chant Michigan State University sporting events is “go green, go white.”

While there are no universities in southwest Michigan that have division one athletics, anyone who drives through Niles is sure to see the water towers near Brandywine and Niles High Schools, which proudly showcase maroon and gold or a Viking logo.

Soon, this level of pride will also come to Cassopolis, as the local water tower is undergoing an exterior transformation. Presumably sometime in the next week or so, workers will finish painting it the official colors of Ross Beatty Jr.-Sr. High School: royal blue and white.

“Being a Cassopolis graduate, I am personally really excited about this,” said Ben Anderson, the Village of Cassopolis director of public works. “Our water tower has always been pale blue and with black lettering — which is fine — it looks a lot like many of the other water towers you see. But I think with our water tower being so highly visible, it needs to be something that when people see it they can take pride in it.”

The new, darker paint will also cover some of the natural wear the tower has incurred over the years.

“We decided to go ahead and have a different color put on there to hide some of the discoloration that happens on the bottom of the bowl,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s hope was the bowl would be painted by now, but the frequent rain delayed the project. Suez Water Advanced Solutions, the company contracted to paint the tower, is also washing it out — a project that Suez is under contract to do every two years, which involves emptying the tower and power washing the inside of it in order to remove iron and sediment that has gatered in the bowl.

During this process, Cassopolis has used the Vandalia water tower for storage and pressure.

“The expectation is that they will be done this week,” Anderson said. “Now the weather is playing a huge role in the painting, but the interior we think will be done this week for sure. They’re just washing out and then they are going to refill it.”

Once the tower is refilled, it will be tested to make sure that the water is clean enough for people to use. According to Anderson, this process should take about two days.

In the meantime, he said that Cassopolis residents may have experienced some discoloration in their water from using the Vandalia water tower. This is because the direction of the flow in the main water line has been changed, which could stir up sediment and iron.

“If you notice discolored water, let your cold water run for a few minutes to see if it clears up,” Anderson posted on his Facebook page. “If the discolored water doesn’t go away, call (269) 445-8648. After hours please call (269) 445-1560.”

He said that any discolored water people see will not be “toxic.”

“It just is an aesthetic thing where it is not pleasant to look at,” he said.

The Cassopolis water tower should be back in service by the end of the week, or early next week at the latest.