Course Description:
The major components of a public water supply system include supply, treatment, distribution and storage. Providing an adequate amount of system storage serves a variety of purposes in a water system. This course will discuss factors that impact the storage volume necessary for a system. It will also cover the two different types of storage used (ground storage tanks and elevated storage tanks) and the two different types of materials used (concrete and steel) along with the advantages and disadvantages of each type. Maintaining good water quality in a water tank can also be a challenge. This course will discuss how to determine the water in a tank, what water age means, and how to improve the water quality both during design and during operation.
Course Outline:
• Types of tanks – ground storage, standpipes, elevated – and which one is better
• Proper sizing criteria for a storage tank
• Fire storage calculations
• Operational and emergency storage calculations
• Required appurtenances
• Seasonal variation in storage needs and how to design for it
• Designing a water tank to minimize water age and maintain water quality
• Improving water quality in an existing storage tank
Leaning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course, the user will:
• Understand the operational differences between ground storage and elevated tanks.
• Understand the parameters that impact tank sizing, including fire storage, operational storage and emergency storage
• Understand how water quality in a tank can be maintained through design
• Understand how water quality in a tank can be maintained through operational changes.
Intended Audience:
This course is intended as an introduction to water storage tanks and therefore the intended audience includes engineers designing tanks. It also includes public works officials responsible for construction, operation or maintenance of storage tanks.
Course Summary:
This course will provide the user with a basic understanding of the different types of potable water storage tanks used in drinking water systems, along with guidance on the appropriate size of the tank. Water storage tanks are a major capital expense for a public water system and there are problems both with tanks that are too small and tanks that are too large. Determining appropriate fire flow storage can be a major issue especially for smaller water systems. This course will discuss appropriate sizing criteria along with appurtenances for the tank. It will also discuss the issue of water age and how to address water age in storage tanks. An understanding of these design parameters allows engineers and managers to make appropriate design decisions for storage tanks.
