2015 Award Menu
2015 Field Erected Tank Entries
vessel storage
liquid storage tank
oil storage tank
tank
tank
tank
vessel storage
Entry #1

Product / project title: | Ingleside Propane Terminal |
Product / project owner: | Confidential |
Product / project location: | Ingleside, TX |
Date completed: | June 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | ASME Section VIII |
Overall length (feet): | 82’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 76’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 3,538,392 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 1519 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1.751 – 1.843” |
These (2) large Spheres were designed and built to the strict requirements of the ASME, Section VIII, Division 2 Standard to hold 80,418 BBLS of Propane under extreme pressure.
Each holds 40,209 BBLS of Propane at 250 psig in the 76′-0 Sphere. The Sphere has an unusually high design pressure that requires that all welds be 100% Ultrasonic Tested(UT) for quality. Also due to the high pressure, the plates were designed to be very thick (the thickest plate was 1.843″) and required that the Spheres be field Post Weld Heat Treated (PWHT) by holding the entire sphere at 1,175 degrees F for 2 hours. Before being placed into service, the Propane Spheres were then successfully hydro tested under pressure to 358 psig.
The Scope of Work for the spheres included the design and construction of the foundations, as well as the design and installation of the support columns including their fire proofing, multi ring deluge fire protection spray system, system piping from the sphere top to the ground, a galvanized stairway and field paint of the finished spheres and piping.
These Spheres used 3,038,000 pounds of steel plate and demonstrate the capability and flexibility of steel to store products at very high pressures making steel – the material of choice!
liquid storage tank
Entry #1

Product / project title: | Egg Shaped Anaerobic Digester / City of Waukesha Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements |
Product / project owner: | City of Waukesha |
Product / project location: | Waukesha, WI |
Date completed: | September 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | API 620 Appx D |
Overall length (feet): | 78’ -1” |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 66’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 1,100,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 261 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 0.3125” to 1.00” |
The City of Waukesha operates a wastewater treatment plant on Sentry Drive with a peak flow capacity exceeding 20 Million Gallons per Day. The plant incorporates anaerobic digestion to reduce and stabilize wastewater residuals.
The pre-existing digester system included 4 digesters, the oldest of these were constructed in 1965. All 4 of the existing digesters were constructed of concrete with a variety of steel or concrete digester covers or roofs. The 1965 vintage digesters were at the end of their useful life and the City decided to replace one of them with a new digester while converting the other to storage duty only. After evaluating both conventional, concrete digesters and a steel Egg Shaped Digester (ESD), the City selected a steel ESD for the new construction.
The steel ESD furnished in excess of twice the capacity in the same footprint that was previously occupied by the concrete digester, is more thermally efficient, does not require frequent cleaning and consumes less mixing energy. The ESD’s double curved shape, easily produced with steel, is the key to attaining these construction and operational benefits.
The ESD is fabricated primarily of ASTM A516 Grade 70 materials with an internal design pressure of 20 inches water column.
We designed, fabricated, constructed and commissioned this 1,100,000 gallon anaerobic digester as a Subcontractor to CD Smith Construction, Inc. CD Smith was the General Contractor for the entire wastewater treatment plant improvement project constructed for the City of Waukesha. The engineering consultants for the wastewater plant were Strand Associates, Inc and Black & Veatch Corporation as a sub-consultant to Strand.
Entry #2

Product / project title: | 3 Double Wall Cryogenic Storage Tanks (LOX LIN LAR) |
Product / project owner: | Linde |
Product / project location: | La Porte, TX |
Date completed: | January 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | API 620 |
Overall length (feet): | – |
Column height (feet, inches): | 60’ -0” |
Diameter (inches): | 69’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | >1,500,000 (LOX, LIN, LAR) |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 500 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 0.35” |
With the influx of inexpensive “shale gas” petroleum products flowing into the Gulf Region, it was no surprise when a new Air Separation Unit was proposed to be built in La Porte, TX. ASU’s break down these unrefined gases into many more usable components, the main ones being Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Argon. The best way to then store these refined gases is to liquefy them cryogenically and then store the chilled product in double wall tanks.
The three vessels constructed in La Porte were designed to hold over 1.5 million gallons of cryogenic Oxygen, Nitrogen, and Argon. The inner holding tank(s) had to withstand operating temperatures in the range of negative 200 degrees C (-328 F) thus requiring the use of stainless steel inner vessels. Each of these “thermos” tanks is then surrounded by a perlite insulation annular space and an exterior carbon steel tank designed to keep the insulation barrier protected from the elements. Only the flexibility of steel allows the storage of such cold products – concrete, fiberglass, etc. would all shatter at these temperatures! Combined, the three tanks used nearly one million (1,000,000) pounds of steel plate and piping, including a specialty stainless steel designated as 201LN which can properly resist the cold shattering effects of cryogenic fluids.
Engineering of these three tanks consumed thousands of man-hours, much spent routing the inner tank piping thru the perlite annular space. It is critical that there is enough flexibility built into the lines to safely handle the stresses caused by the huge differences in temperature(s) (-325F inside vs a Texas temperature of 110F outside). Finite element analysis is also involved on fabrication details not previously tested / used on earlier cryo tanks. Each of the products stored also had their own “personal” requirements, such as the seal welding (and later specialty cleaning) of the Oxygen tank’s interior, so as to avoid having the tank explode when exposed to hidden petroleum based contamination. The LAR (Liquid Argon) tank also presented unique challenges, as that particular product actually weighs more than water, an interesting facet when conducting the API mandated hydrotest procedure.
Construction of the three tanks was performed on a very tight site, with the tank crew competing for lay down and working space amongst a dozen other contractors who were trying to build the surrounding process units at the same time. Sitting on special elevated and insulated foundations, the tank builders were “up in the air” more than usual too. Once completed, the customer’s logos were applied to the exterior shells (logos not shown here), providing the new ASU’s owner with free advertising that their plant was open for business.
Entry #3

Product / project title: | 30,000 Ton Anhydrous Ammonia Dome Roof Tank |
Product / project owner: | Anonymous |
Product / project location: | Louisiana, LA |
Date completed: | September 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | API 620 & API 625 |
Overall length (feet): | 151’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 125’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | >17,500,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 1000 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 0.1875” to 1.315” |
This extremely tall Ammonia Tank was designed to store liquid anhydrous ammonia at -28 degrees for an Ammonia plant in Louisiana.
The 125’ diameter x 151′ tall single containment tank was designed, fabricated and erected per API 620 Appendix R. The tank weighs approximately 1000 tons empty and with 17.5 million gallons of product inside, it weighs in at nearly 30,980 Tons or almost 62 million pounds.
A heating system is typically installed to prevent the soil under the foundation from freezing, and guards against damage to the slab from the extreme cold. This tank was built on a raised pile cap foundation that eliminated the need for a foundation heating system. Foam glass insulation was installed between the concrete pile cap and the tank’s steel bottom to protect the concrete cap from the very cold operating temperature of the tank itself.
The specially designed dome roof was constructed on the ground inside the tank and air raised into place along with the suspended insulated deck that hangs from the inside of the dome roof. This made erection safer and more economical. Once the dome roof was in place and the tank hydrotested, the tank’s exterior was painted.
To minimize the heat leak and product boil off, an extensive insulation system was designed and installed to maintain the very cold -28 degrees F. The insulation system included Horizontal Foam In Place (HFIP) with an aluminum vapor barrier that was sprayed on to the shell and 6 inches of fiberglass blanket on the suspended deck. The spray foam insulation is integrally bonded to both the tank shell and the aluminum vapor barrier making it very resistant to severe weather.
The single containment tank system includes a vapor recovery system and an earthen dike around the tank foundation to ensure that all potential vapor emissions and liquid leakage will be fully contained.
To obtain access to the top of the roof and the roof nozzles, there is a structural stair tower, access platform and roof stairway.
The result is a tank, capable of holding over 17 million gallons of anhydrous ammonia, that will safely serve the customer’s fertilizer plant – showing once again, that welded steel is the material of choice.
Entry #4

Product / project title: | (2) 125,000 BBL Butane and (2) 200,000 BBL Propane Storage Tanks |
Product / project owner: | Utica East Ohio Midstream LLC |
Product / project location: | Scio, OH |
Date completed: | October 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | API 620 |
Overall length (feet): | 129’ -9” |
Column height (feet, inches): | 109’ -1” and 105’ -1” |
Diameter (inches): | 118’ -0” and 94’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 27,300,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 2848 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1.011” |
(2) 200,000 BBL Propane Storage Tanks
109′-1” Shell Height x 118′-0” Dia
Each tank was built with 872 US Tons of Steel
(2) 125,000 BBL Butane Storage Tanks
105′-1” Shell Height x 94′-0” Dia
Each tank was built with 552 US Tons of Steel
These tanks were engineered, procured, fabricated and constructed utilizing over 2,800 US tons of steel over the course of two years. These tanks with a design metal temperature of -60 Degrees F for the propane storage and a design metal temperature of -20 Degrees F for the butane storage, included steel up to 1″ in thickness and were welded with a combination of manual and automated processes. Over 4,500 feet of weld was deposited and inspected ultrasonically on the four tanks. All tank umbrella roofs were constructed inside the tank shells on the bottom of the tank and air raised into position with the heaviest roof weighing approximately 250 tons. All four tanks have been insulated for the low temperature service utilizing a high density foam in place (HFIP) patented system. An additional feature of these tanks is the deluge fire suppression system installed on each tank roof.
Entry #5

Product / project title: | Sunoco Mariner South LPG Terminal – (2) Propane Storage Tanks |
Product / project owner: | Sunoco Logistics |
Product / project location: | Nederland, TX |
Date completed: | February 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | API 620 |
Overall length (feet): | 133’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | 80’ -0” |
Diameter (inches): | 248’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 25,200,000 each (50,400,000 Total) |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 2475 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1.5623 |
Engineering, procurement, fabrication, and construction of 2 – 600,000 barrel API 620 Propane / Butane Storage Tanks. Field construction work consisted of ground improvement, foundations, tank erection, tank painting, HFIP Insulation, piping to grade, and foundation heating.
Tank dimensions, capacity, and tonnage listed above are per tank.
oil storage tank
Entry #1

Product / project title: | Chevron Phillips Chemical Cedar Bayou Ethane Cracker Field Erected Tanks |
Product / project owner: | Chevron Phillips Chemical |
Product / project location: | Baytown, TX |
Date completed: | October 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | API 650 (15 Tanks) |
Overall length (feet): | 14’ -0” to 40’ -0” (28’ -11” average) |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 24’ -0” to 94’ -0” (52’ -7” average) |
Capacity (US gallons): | 9,820,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 1400 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 5/16” average |
Fifteen (15) Carbon Steel Tanks were built for the Chevron Phillips Chemical Cedar Bayou Plant in Baytown, TX which is an addition to their existing plant. These tanks were needed for process and storage needs of the World Scale Ethane Cracker that CP Chemical built. This is the first world scale cracker to be built in the United States in almost 20 years and when complete will increase ethylene production at the Cedar Bayou plant by over 3.3 Billion pounds per year. This process works by heating ethane to very high temperatures to “crack” the molecule into smaller molecules in order to make plastic. Ethane is a component of Natural Gas, and the low price of Natural Gas is the driver for the construction of this project. This is a massive size project with a project cost of over $6 billion and a footprint of almost 50 football fields and 350 miles of piping needed. Over 10,000 people will work on this project.
These tanks had an average diameter of over 52′, some as large as 94′ and some as small as 24′, and an average height of almost 29′ – some are 14′ tall, some are 40′ tall. The total storage capacity was almost 10,000,000 gallons.
These tanks were used for a wide variety of purposes, from waste water process and storage, chemical process and storage, and water process and storage. Because of the wide variety of sizes and storage needs, a wide variety of field erected tanks were built. These included flat bottom self-supported dome roof tanks, flat bottom column supported cone roof tanks, flat bottom open top tanks, and open top open bottom tanks. For the tanks with roofs, large portions of the roofs were covered with platforms, and most of the open top tanks had agitators or other mixing products installed within them.
All of the tanks received internal and external coatings supplied. The challenges for field coatings were to 1) mitigate chloride contamination, and 2) perform the blast and paint process in a very tight work site with numerous other contractors in the area. With thousands of workers at site every day and numerous other contractors in the immediate area, this was a large challenge.
Entry #2

Product / project title: | Produced Water Tank |
Product / project owner: | FMOG California |
Product / project location: | McKittrick, CA |
Date completed: | June 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | API 650 |
Overall length (feet): | 16’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 29’ -9” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 84,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 22.5 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1/4” to 3/8” |
This tank was a replacement tank requiring installation in an operating plant. Due to production demands at the facility the tank could not be offline for more than 2 weeks.
To meet this requirement, the new tank was built in an adjacent location. When the transition was initiated, the old tank was separated from the facility and demolished, then the new tank was set in place, connected to the plant piping, and put into service within the two week window.
Entry #3

Product / project title: | 7157 Digester Gas Storage Replacement |
Product / project owner: | City of San Jose |
Product / project location: | San Jose, CA |
Date completed: | October 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | API 650 |
Overall length (feet): | 42’ -8” |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 50’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | See Below |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 70 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1/4” |
This 50,000 cu. Ft. Low pressure gas holder was a replacement to a smaller unit at the facility. The treatment plant needed increased capacity with limited space, and so had to install this new gas holder in the same area originally occupied by the older unit.
This unit provides necessary capacity for increased demand from daily operation of the plant.
The city’s specification required that the gas holder be designed for an initial operating pressure of 6½ inches water column and to be able to accommodate an increased future operating pressure of 14 inches water column. The piston deck was designed to accommodate the future placement of additional ballast for the increased pressure.
Entry #4

Product / project title: | Bv Hills Plant and Mt. Poso Central and North Plants |
Product / project owner: | Vintage Production California |
Product / project location: | Taft, Oildale, CA |
Date completed: | April 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | API 650 |
Overall length (feet): | 8’ -0” to 24’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 21’ -5” to 45’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 42,000 to 294,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 573 Total |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1/4” to 3/8” |
This project consists of 18 tanks installed at three water treatment facilities used in the extraction and production of oil.
The project requirements include external rafter roof structures on all tanks to facilitate application and life expectancy of high performance interior coatings.
Tank capacities vary from 1,000 bbl to 7,000 bbl
Tank diameters range from 21.5 ft to 45 ft
Tank heights range from 8 ft to 24 ft
Thicknesses range from 1/4″ to 3/8″
Total tons: 573
tank
Entry #1

Product / project title: | Wynnwood One Million Gallon Elevated Storage Tank |
Product / project owner: | Kimley-Horn and Associates / City of The Colony, Texas |
Product / project location: | The Colony, TX |
Date completed: | September 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | AWWA D100-11 |
Overall length (feet): | 163’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | 107’ – 6” |
Diameter (inches): | 74’ -8” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 1,000,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 300 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1.375” |
OWNER PAYS AN $82,000 PREMIUM FOR AN “ALL STEEL” SINGLE PEDESTAL ELEVATED TANK.
Bids were opened by the City of The Colony, Texas on May 20, 2014. The owner took bids on an “All Steel” single pedestal tank and a Composite style tank. The city and a master-planned community developer elected to buy the “All Steel” tank based on aesthetics and how well the tank blended into the surrounding development by Lake Lewisville.
A BEAUTIFUL ADDITION TO THE TRIBUTE – A LAKESIDE GOLF AND RESORT COMMUNITY!!!
Entry #2

Product / project title: | 3 MMG Composite Elevated Tank at Souderton, PA |
Product / project owner: | North Penn Water Authority |
Product / project location: | Franconia Twsp, Souderton, PA |
Date completed: | January 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | AWWA D107 |
Overall length (feet): | 133’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | 60’ – 0” |
Diameter (inches): | 118’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 3,000,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 481 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1.5” |
The lifting of nearly 700,000 pounds of steel into a clear blue sky certainly got the attention of the residents of Franconia Township – the event was even big enough to warrant the local TV cameras coming out, complete with a drone overview of this huge tank jacking procedure. And thus in one day the farmland in Souderton, Pennsylvania went from having a concrete column jutting into the sky, to one containing a beautifully painted 3 million gallon elevated tank towering over the landscape.
Even though the 60′ diameter support shaft is constructed of concrete, the most visible part of the tank is the huge 118′ diameter by 45′ deep upper tank. Called the Leidy Tank by its new owner, the North Penn Water Authority, the new capacity will support the growing community around it. As one of a very few tanks of this style/capacity (less than 25 have been built this big), the engineering around the tank’s design (and the methods used to jack up the ground assembled / painted main cone and shell) did not just come off the shelves; it was new ground in many parts of the process. Nearly 900,000 lbs of plate and framing ended up being used to support the huge column of water contained within its steel walls.
With the North Penn logo beautifully applied to the tank, it now stands as a landmark (and not an eyesore) for the local utility and neighborhoods that will benefit from it in the years to come.
Entry #3

Product / project title: | Mound Road 1.5 MG Elevated Water Tank |
Product / project owner: | City of Shorewood |
Product / project location: | Shorewood, IL |
Date completed: | October 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | – |
Overall length (feet): | 105’ -8” |
Column height (feet, inches): | 59’ – 8” |
Diameter (inches): | 86’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 1,500,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 354 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1.44” |
This large, eye-catching 1,500,000 gallon single pedestal spheroid tank was constructed to meet the City of Shorewood, Illinois urgent need to double their water storage capacity. The City and their consulting engineer selected this all welded steel beauty over other materials due to enhanced aesthetics, a tough local union environment and the cold winter weather construction capability of welded steel that reduced the schedule.
The tank design was complicated due to the large double door and the huge 20’ x 32’ valve vault built inside the spread footing foundation. The large vault is covered with grating held up by angles and beams and is bordered by stainless steel handrail with a stairwell leading to the base of the vault. The valve vault contains a unit heater, a large 16” bypass line with an altitude valve and a recirculation pump skid with dual 6” recirculation lines running up to and back down from the tank bowl.
A sodium hypochlorite analyzer is connected to the piping and adds chemicals as needed via a liquid sodium hypochlorite enclosure and injection line. Additionally an emergency generator was also provided along with a multifaceted SCADA control system that allows the City complete control of the tank functions even in the event of a power failure.
This tank required double curve pressing and welding of very thick steel almost 1.5” thick that is just not possible with other materials.
A long lasting fluoropolymer paint system was used on the exterior graphics that enhances the tank. The dark green Shorewood lettering pops out against the brilliant white circumferential stripe at the center of the bowl. The rest of the tank is also painted dark green to blend in with the surrounding prairie and cornfields.
The tank both blends in with the surroundings and stands out to provide a tank the community certainly is proud of and demonstrates the flexibility of steel designed structures that other materials just can’t provide.
Entry #4

Product / project title: | Eastside Elevated Tank – 750MG x 128′ High Waterspheroid |
Product / project owner: | Village of Lake Delton |
Product / project location: | Lake Delton, WI |
Date completed: | October 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | AWWA D100 |
Overall length (feet): | 135’ -3” |
Column height (feet, inches): | 88’ – 0” |
Diameter (inches): | 64’ -7” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 750,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 201 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 0.25” to 1.075” |
This beautiful and one of a kind 750,000 gallon Elevated tank was constructed with an interior 10′ x 10′ x 8′ Insulated Enclosure Building that provided a controlled environment for the owners valves and electrical controls.
The tank was constructed on the edge of Wild Rock Golf Course within site of the historic Wild Rock Barn. This tank is part of the extensive water system that supplies approx. 16 million gallons of water yearly for the surrounding water parks of Wisconsin Dells which sees around 5 million visitors each year.
The exterior graphics enhancing the tank included the Wilderness Resort Logo that can be viewed from beautiful Lake Delton in the Wisconsin Dells. This tank promotes demonstrates the flexibility and aesthetics of steel designed structures.
Entry #5

Product / project title: | Contract III – Windhurst Trail Elevated Storage Tank |
Product / project owner: | Pace Water System, Inc. |
Product / project location: | Pace, FL |
Date completed: | January 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | AWWA D100 |
Overall length (feet): | 157’ -6” |
Column height (feet, inches): | 144’ – 0” |
Diameter (inches): | 74’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 1,000,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 394 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1-23/32” |
This new master planned gated community will grow up to include approximately 600 homes across the 476 preserved acres that are divided up into several separate neighborhoods which include a walking bridge, scenic overlook, and park. This community is very proud of their new 1MG Elevated Fluted Column Water Storage Tank that has brought the much needed increased water pressure and fire protection in addition to serving as a centerpiece for self-advertising.
This all-steel elevated tank supports over 8 million pounds of water alone and peaks at 157.5 feet in the air. Due to its Florida location, high winds, soil conditions, and air quality checks/controls added to the design/implementation challenges of this fluted column tank structure and also required a 1/16″ corrosion allowance. The electrical, SCADA, telemetry, piping, and valve work are all cleverly concealed from the public interface inside the fluted column while an all-steel roof handrail compactly encompasses the antennae and hatches atop of the tank. A complete Cathodic Protection system will help fight against the coastal corrosive atmosphere. The tank utilizes steel for its two vertical pipe runs from grade to the interior bowl area, a full column-diameter steel condensate ceiling, and seven internal structural stiffeners which also serve as ladder platforms up the column.
Tens of thousands of design, construction, and paint man-hours went into successfully delivering this impressive tank on its beautiful site. It is as massive as it is useful and has the following noteworthy points:
-nearly 85,000 sq. ft. of total painted steel surface
-over 316 cu. yds. of concrete support the tank structure
-over 394 tons of steel was used in the water tank and supporting structure
-over 350 ft. of 12 & 8 in. diameter steel pipes fill, drain, and properly overflow the tank
-two different painted color logos adorn the peaceful exterior set in the tranquil environment
tank
Entry #1

Product / project title: | Eastside Water Treatment Facility (2) Reservoir Tanks |
Product / project owner: | City of Chino |
Product / project location: | Chino, CA |
Date completed: | October 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | AWWA D100 |
Overall length (feet): | – |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 64’ to 170’ |
Capacity (US gallons): | (1) 4,000,000 and (1) 500,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 460 Total |
Steel thickness (inches): | 3/16” to 1/2” |
City of Chino Eastside water treatment facility Treated water reservoirs
(1) 500,000 gallon and (1) 4,000,000 gallon water reservoirs
4.0 million gallon reservoir 170’d x 27’h, knuckle roof tank 400 tons Thickness range: 3/16″ to 1/2″
0.500 million gallon reservoir 64’d x 27’h, knuckle roof tank 60 tons Thickness range: 3/16″ to 1/4″
Murals applied to these tanks Steel tanks offer superior substrate color and gloss retention of murals.
Entry #2

Product / project title: | Replacement of (2) Buckland Reservoirs |
Product / project owner: | Mid-Peninsula Water District |
Product / project location: | San Carlos, CA |
Date completed: | March 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | AWWA D100 |
Overall length (feet): | 20’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 30’ – 0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 200,000 (100,000 each) |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 50 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1/4” |
(2) 100,000 gallon tanks 30’d x 20’h 50 tons
Two aging tanks at this water facility required replacement to meet higher seismic design parameters currently employed by the district. The new tanks had to be installed behind other existing tanks on the site. Severely limited access for the demolition of the old tanks and construction of the new tanks required special techniques and a large crane to erect the tanks. In addition, building department restrictions limited the height of the new tanks to no higher than the existing tanks. These conditions combined with a short construction schedule.
This presented a problem for the consulting design engineer who desperately needed to maintain the working level in both tanks but also had to accommodate the significant freeboard requirements mandated by the building code and AWWA D100.
This solution utilizes formed roof panels with structural elements placed outside the roof. In addition, the underside of the roof was seal welded. This solution to the freeboard problem also provides a monumental improvement for interior roof coatings leading to an extended life of the coating system and reducing the total cost of ownership of the tanks.
The short schedule and demanding roof design requirements led to the determination that steel was the construction material of choice.
Entry #3

Product / project title: | Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant |
Product / project owner: | San Francisco Public Utilities Commission |
Product / project location: | San Bruno, CA |
Date completed: | April 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | AWWA D100 |
Overall length (feet): | 41’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 65’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 680,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 96 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1/4” to 5/8” |
This is the second tank of this size at the Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant.
With a high liquid level and an extremely large seismic sloshing wave on this tank, the umbrella roof with knuckle transition were specially designed to provide the structural capacity necessary to resist high magnitude sloshing wave forces in the roof.
The convenience and flexibility of steel construction led to an economical solution for these requirements.
Entry #4

Product / project title: | Joseph Jensen Water Treatment Plant – North & South Tank |
Product / project owner: | Upgrades |
Product / project location: | Metropolitan Water District Of Southern California CA |
Date completed: | September 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | AWWA D100 |
Overall length (feet): | – |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 100’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | – |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | – |
Steel thickness (inches): | 1/4” to 3/4” |
This project provided seismic upgrades and improvements to the roof structures for two 100 ft diameter water tanks.
The seismic upgrades incorporated heavy shell stiffener rings and anchor point gussets to connect the tanks to new seismic hold down caissons. MWD specifies a high seismic load for their critical facilities and therefore, the tanks at this location required upgrading by the addition of anchorage to these existing tanks that previously had no anchorage.
MWD had determined that the roof structure for these tanks required replacement to be able to withstand the new design parameters. MWD devised a roof structure system where all roof supporting elements except the columns are external to the roof. The special erection sequences and close tolerance required to install these roof was challenging, but the result is a tank roof with an internal appearance similar to the tank floor, all flat surfaces with seal welded lap seams.
The new roof structure and added seismic anchorage on these tanks will provide excellent service and low life cycle cost for this facility.
Entry #5

Product / project title: | Longview Tank |
Product / project owner: | Eastern Municipal Water District |
Product / project location: | Romoland, CA |
Date completed: | October 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | AWWA D100 |
Overall length (feet): | 51’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 160’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 6,000,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 531 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 3/16” to 1” |
This water district needed to increased storage capacity in the pressure zone served by this reservoir.
For this project, in a portion of the state where concrete tanks have a large presence, steel was selected as the construction material of choice due to lower life cycle costs and leak free construction.
tank
Entry #1

Product / project title: | Kearl Expansion Project |
Product / project owner: | Imperial Oil |
Product / project location: | Fort McMurray, AB, Canada |
Date completed: | October 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | – |
Overall length (feet): | 91’ -10” |
Column height (feet, inches): | 48’ -7” |
Diameter (inches): | 98’ -5” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 2,080,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 1650 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 2.375” |
This huge Primary Separation Cell (98′-5 Diameter x 91′-10 High) is located in the Extraction Unit of the Kearl Expansion Project, an oil sands treatment and separation facility 275 miles north of Edmonton, Alberta that is only 680 miles from the Arctic Circle. Primary Separation Cells are large, specialty vessels that are exclusively utilized in the oil sands area in Alberta.
Steel is the only material of choice for these specialty vessels due to: 1.) the all-weather construction capability of steel in such a cold climate and 2.) the durability of steel to withstand the harsh processing environment required to handle and endure the daily processing of large volumes of sand, oil and water mixtures.
Primary Separation Cells are specialized large diameter, cone-bottomed vessels with a steep side slope, which perform the separation of sand, oil, and water. The shape of the vessel facilitates the separation of heavy solids from the light, aerated bitumen froth. The unique nature and viscosity of the treated slurry requires careful consideration to the vessel’s design and fabrication. Oil sands slurry from the hydrotransport pipeline enters the vessels through a feedwell, which evenly distributes the slurry below the froth layer.
Once diluted slurry enters the vessel, the aerated bitumen is very buoyant and instantly floats to the top. This intermediate froth product overflows into a froth launder, which gravity flows to a downstream de-aeration unit. Aerated bitumen has a very low density due to its very high air content.
Coarse solids immediately sink to the bottom of the vessel and are pumped out to the tailings plant (sometimes referred to as PSC underflow).
The slurry which lingers in the middle of the vessel (termed midlings) is made up of material not heavy enough to sink instantly and not light enough to float. This material is often reprocessed in aerated flotation units due to its significant bitumen content.
Entry #2

Product / project title: | Lone Star Project Urea Storage Tanks with Internals and Containment |
Product / project owner: | Agrium |
Product / project location: | Borger, TX |
Date completed: | June 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | API 650 |
Overall length (feet): | 24’ -0” and 30’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 45’ -0” and 42’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 560,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 230 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 5/16” average |
For their existing World Scale Fertilizer Plant in Borger, TX in 2014 Agrium began construction of a new grassroots Urea Plant that will increase the ammonia capacity for the Lone Star Plant to 670,000 tons of urea per year and 700,000 tons of ammonia per year. The end customer is the agricultural industry of the United States. Overall this represents a $750,000,000 capital cost for the project.
Of the seven (7) overall field erected tanks on this project, two (2) were very unique tanks. Due to the process requirements of the Urea Tanks and the environmental concerns, the tanks had to be built with an external steel containment shell and inside of each of the tanks were several smaller tanks.
For one of the Urea Storage Tanks, the Tank itself was 45′ diameter with a 24′ shell height and a dome roof made of 304L Stainless Steel. Around this tank was a 51′ diameter with a 22′ shell height and a roof connecting the containment shell to the main tank made of A36 Carbon Steel that was painted in the shop and field on all surfaces. Inside of this tank was a 3’10” diameter by 23’3″ shell height tank and a 6’5″ diameter by 22’4″ shell height tank. These internal tanks are 304L Stainless Steel.
For the other Urea Storage Tank, the Tank itself was 42′ diameter with a 30′ shell height and a dome roof made of 304L Stainless Steel. Around this tank was a 48′ diameter with a 27′ shell height and a roof connecting the containment shell to the main tank made of A36 Carbon Steel that was painted in the shop and field on all surfaces. Inside of this tank was a 21’4″ diameter by 29’9″ shell height tank and two (2) 7′ diameter by 29’8″ shell height tanks. These internal tanks are 304L Stainless Steel.
This configuration represented a major engineering and construction challenge. Containment wall tanks always represent a challenge, especially for those that are of dissimilar metals. Details of how to connect the piping between the tanks and the bottoms to each other are complex and guidance is not provided by the design code. Also, as the tanks that are within the main tank are designed to feed product into each other and the main tank, designing the piping connections to account for thermal expansion was critical. As these tanks were not designed to be full at the same time the tank itself would be full, this additional load and stress had to be accounted for in our design process. Additionally, the bottoms of each tank (including the main tank and the containment tank) were unique to each other, further complicating the design. Each of the tanks within the main tank had to be accessible for personnel access from the roof as well as the shell.
Entry #3

Product / project title: | Hot Tub Containment Shell |
Product / project owner: | Agua Caliente Band Of Mission Indians |
Product / project location: | Palm Springs, CA |
Date completed: | October 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | – |
Overall length (feet): | 10’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | – |
Diameter (inches): | 26’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 63,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 15 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 5/8” |
This specialty ‘hot tub’ containment shell is open top and open bottom.
The container is located at an Indian Heritage site incorporating a naturally occurring hot spring. The Indian Heritage site includes hot springs spa and bath facilities.
The ‘hot tub’ is the collection and storage container for the spring water. This is a replacement to an existing container shell that had suffered corrosion and was insufficient capacity.
The new shell is constructed of 5/8″ thick type 316L stainless steel. It incorporates heavy fabricated shell stiffeners inside and will be anchored into an external concrete compression ring at grade. The entire unit will be capped with a concrete slab that exists in an open courtyard at the facility.
Entry #4

Product / project title: | Moses Lake Reservoir #7 Raising Project |
Product / project owner: | City of Moses Lake |
Product / project location: | Moses Lake, WA |
Date completed: | June 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | AWWA |
Overall length (feet): | 138’ -8” |
Column height (feet, inches): | 76’ -5” |
Diameter (inches): | 62’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 1,300,000 |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 175 |
Steel thickness (inches): | .50” |
Converted an existing 62’-0″ diameter x 120′-0″ high standpipe into an elevated tank by adding a scalloped bottom at the 85’ elevation sitting on top of a new 10’-0″ diameter wet column riser including adding a 24′-6″ diameter x 5′-0″ high reinforced foundation (87 CY’s) under the riser placed at the center of the tank. Modifications included adding 18′-8″ of additional shell height to the top, reinforced the upper shell courses, added full height shell stiffeners under the new bottom, completely repainted the tank and addition of the district’s logo. Using this method eliminated the ‘dead storage’ of a conventional standpipe, reduced the overall weight on the new foundation, and was more economical than typical methods used to raise the tank to allow for installation of new thickened bottom shell courses thus creating a unique “skirted” elevated tank.
These changes achieved the elevated system pressure and storage capacity allowing the Water District to place the previously unusable tank on line with their existing water supply system. An added bonus included a 10’ x 10’ framed doorway at the base for a roll up access door allowing a secured dry storage for the districts use. This innovative solution allowed the City to move forward with the project as all other options considered exceeded the City’s available funding.
Entry #1

Product / project title: | Ridgefield Storage Tank Improvements (2) Standpipes |
Product / project owner: | Aquarion Water Company |
Product / project location: | Ridgefield, CT |
Date completed: | November 2015 |
Construction standard (if any): | AWWA D100 |
Overall length (feet): | 88’ -0” |
Column height (feet, inches): | 82’ -0” |
Diameter (inches): | 42’ -0” |
Capacity (US gallons): | 1,688,000 Total |
Steel tonnage used (US tons): | 227 |
Steel thickness (inches): | 23/32” |
Last year, this formerly neglected water system resulted in several more leaks to their 32′ diameter by 82′ HWL, 490,000 gallon tank from the 1940’s and was in severe enough condition that it needed a quick replacement. The owner determined that they would construct two tanks on the same site to replace this single tank so that future maintenance would never again be neglected (with two tanks, they could always take one out of service for inspection or maintenance). The owner had been contacted and persuaded to bid both glass-lined bolted tanks and welded steel tanks, but elected to award two welded steel tanks and the project began in December 2014.
The challenging part was that the existing tank had to remain in service while constructing the two new tanks – which were within 12 ft. The foundation excavation for one of the new tanks exposed a decent portion of the existing tank foundation. Many design, engineering, and planning tactics had to be considered so the sequence of the construction activities would keep the job site safe and prevent the existing tank from unexpected movements. Prior to getting the new tanks online, the existing tank required five more repairs to keep it in service until it was removed in November 2015. The site was also in close proximity to neighboring houses and within a protected wooded area. An additional challenge was the existing tank had antennae which remained in service throughout the project, so much care was taken to protect the personnel, property, and equipment.
Near the completion of the first tank, they added over a ton of additional steel antennae brackets to the tank. Thousands of design and construction man-hours were spent to make this a successful project with the tight site and sequencing constraints. These two new large water storage tanks have the following points to highlight:
-more than 60,000 sq. ft. of total painted steel surface
-226 tons of steel was used in the water tanks, antennae bracket work, and supporting structures
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