Residents in a small town in central Alberta had the opportunity to say goodbye to a local landmark, while celebrating investment and renewal in their community.

In Empress, Alta., residents gathered Tuesday morning to see crews pull down the old water tower – a seven-story structure that loomed tall in the town of 150 houses that sits on the Saskatchewan border.

What they got was a huge boom, as an excavator yanked a line attached to the 25-metre-tall structure and toppled it.

_WATCH | EMPRESS WATER TOWER DEMOLISHED: _

"I was hoping for more of a splash," Jerry Gautreau, the village's chief administrator, said with a chuckle.

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"It just went down and the roof imploded, because that's what was rusted out."

Structural concerns

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