Sussex residents are doing double takes after a paint job on the water tower was left undone Wednesday, leaving the word "sex" behind.

The tower is located at Richmond Road and North Corporate Circle.

A contractor told TODAY'S TMJ4 that it wasn't their initial intention to leave the tower in that state, but explained that workers ran into a venting issue, and had to stop the job in order to let the paint dry.

The tower is getting a new logo and workers were applying a layer of primer.

"We kind of like the honks when they go by and a little bit of the road traffic," the contractor said.

Jessica Bruss was driving her 8-year-old son to his first baseball game Wednesday afternoon when she heard him say 'mom, why does that say sex?'"

"I immediately thought, 'not today, we're not having this conversation today,'" Bruss joked. "I almost drove off the road when I saw it."

Workers are expected to cover up the unfortunate message on Thursday, but still have to work on the other side of the tower that still reads "Sussex." And no, the contractor couldn't guarantee that the same thing won't happen again.

"It's not like it's anything pornographic, but it certainly caught the attention of my 8-year-old. While I think it's funny for adults, people should remember that kids are seeing it," Bruss said.

