New tank to supply water needs

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Matthew Hubby
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Water is a vital and important part of life. People drink it all the time and often don't think about where it comes from. On Dover Air Force Base, the water is currently being purchased from an off-base utility.

At least, that is, until September, when the new one million gallon water tank and new pumping system is scheduled to turn on, and once again supply Dover Air Force Base with water pumped by the four wells located on base.

The project to replace the old 750,000 gallon water tank with the new one million gallon model and replace the pumps for the base water system cost about $1.6 million, the funds were supplied by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as part of the stimulus program.

"We definitely needed the upgrade," said Dennis Committee, 436th Civil Engineers Squadron chief of operations. "The old pump was undersized when it came to fire protection, there just wasn't enough water should the worst happen on base in the case of a fire. After losing the swimming pool on base, which counted to the total water supply for fire protection, we definitely needed an increase in our water supply."

The original tank was built in the 1950s, and when it began to leak and crack in the 80's, it was lined with a plastic coating to prevent further damage. It was also given a stucco finish to make it more pleasing on the eye.

"One real problem with the old tower was that it sweat," said Mr. Committee. "Because of the plastic liner, the concrete and the stucco, it would form a layer of condensation on the stucco which tended to moss over. A lot of people would call and ask if they were drinking mossy water, they weren't, but it was still an issue that this new tank should hopefully prevent."

The tank was not the only part of the water system that needed an overhaul. The pump system of the base, which moves the water around to the tank and is the first point of contact for water purification, was also built in the 50's and its age was beginning to show. The civil engineers were beginning to have problems finding parts for the old pumps, and the pumps themselves were very inefficient.

"We are also adding a new automated system to the water system to increase the efficiency of the supply," said Dustin Brown, 436th CES project manager. "This new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system will allow us to monitor the flow of water better with the new float sensors, as well as increase our ability to provide preventative maintenance by watching the performance of the water system."

This new system will increase the quality of services and reliability of the base water system, said Mr. Brown. It will also help prevent outages and increase the efficiency of water purification. The next step in the construction process is purifying the tank followed by a fill and leak test.