1 Million Gallon Elevated Waterspheroid

A private water utility in Delaware was responsible for providing water to the States’ only major oil refinery. The water was needed on a 24/7 basis to ensure the safe operation of the plant, but there was only one elevated water tank in the system, and it desperately needed to be taken down for maintenance. Thus a new tank had to be built so as to allow the older one to be removed from service.

After supporting both the owner and a local consulting engineer with design suggestions, our firm was awarded the work on a price and schedule based competition. And as can be expected, the timing of the work was critical, both from an operational standpoint, as well as the need to meet the customer’s planned rate case submittal, which, if that date was missed, millions of dollars of revenue could be lost over the coming years.

The soils at the site necessitated ground improvement measures, and as soon as the spread-footing foundation was poured on top of these stone columns our steel assembly crew got going. They worked through the winter of 2024-25 so as to ensure that once warmer Spring weather arrived that our paint team could begin the coatings applications. As with any project of this size, there were weather and other delays, but we are pleased to report that water was flowing into the tank such that the rate case submittal deadline was met.

Using just under 500,000 pounds of carbon steel, with thickness’ ranging from 0.25″ to almost 1.50″ thick, this Waterspheroid now proudly displays the use of the SPFA’s main product along a major highway in northern Delaware.