Project Overview

Augusta, Maine’s capital, is located in the central part of the state, where heavy snowfalls are common. In need of a water storage tank, the City of Augusta hired Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., Wakefield, MA, as the consulting engineer for the project. The team determined that an AWWA D110 Type III wire-wound prestressed concrete tank with a dome roof was the perfect structure to withstand the heavy snow loads. Preload, with its solid reputation for designing and building reliable, low-maintenance prestressed concrete tanks, was selected to design and build this 1.5 MG tank.

Preload designed the tank to accommodate differential backfill around the structure; an average of 7’ is buried underground while 28’ is above ground. Built in 1999, the tank has an inside diameter of 96’, a side water depth of 28’, and features a dome roof and a caged exterior ladder. The durable dome roof, with its uniform compression throughout the dome shell, is designed to handle Maine’s heavy snows with ease.