Blog Post
Blog
Oliver Springs, Tennessee – One Million Gallon Equalization Storage Tank
In 2015, the Town of Oliver Springs, Tennessee sought to make improvements to its wastewater treatment plant, including the addition of a 1.0 MG open top equalization storage tank. The new tank was added to increase storage capacity during wet weather events. Oliver Springs is located in east Tennessee near Oak Ridge, where Preload constructed one of the first prestressed concrete tanks in Tennessee for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in 1948. Some 68 years after the construction of that 2.5MG storage tank, Preload returned to east Tennessee to assist consulting engineer GRW Engineers of Knoxville with an equalization storage tank for the Town of Oliver Springs.
Preload provided input during the development phase of the project to GRW on various tank features. The team incorporated several unique features into the final design of the new equalization storage tank including:
- a perimeter elevated concrete walkway
- external access stairs with concrete landings
- an internal floor supported mechanical mixer
- internal concrete weir box for overflow (similar to a launder)
- sloped floor and floor sump
- partial backfill
Preload was awarded the contractor for the design and construction of the tank as a subcontractor to the general contractor, W&O Construction Company, Inc. of Livingston, Tennessee. Following excavation and installation of the underfloor piping by W&O, Preload began construction in the fall of 2015.
The 1.0 MG open top Preload tank has an Inside Diameter (ID) of 100’ with a 20’ Side Wall Height. The floor slopes from one side of the tank to a sump position 180° from the high point. Preload designed a pad and monolithic footing for the mechanical mixer and installed an aluminum platform, supported on the interior wall of the tank, for service access. A wash down cannon accessed from the perimeter walkway provides tank wash down capabilities to the operator.
Preload successfully completed and tested the tank in late fall of 2015 to both the owner and engineer’s complete satisfaction. “Preload exceeded our expectations for professionalism and attentiveness, by delivering the City of Oliver Springs a high quality, watertight tank structure which will provide decades of service with minimal maintenance” said Wayne Dunson, PE of GRW.