22
|
Winter 2014
repair
the use of an internal overflow, because if an
overflow failure occurs it could go unnoticed
and empty the tank.
(5)
This past winter, five
water distribution pumps in Arkansas froze
overnight, leaving the city’s above-ground
storage tanks empty. Without water, the city’s
fire hydrants became useless and firefighters
were left with nothing but the water on
their trucks.
(6)
All valves, pipes, controls, alarms, and liquid
level indicators must be in proper working
order for adequate water to be available.
Failure of any component could have dire
consequences, and all components may need
to be inspected daily during extreme weather
for signs of frozen, cracked or damaged
areas. Sometimes despite all measures taken
emergency repairs may still be needed.
Therefore, effective strategies must be
devised for a quick response and recovery. An
established relationship with a dependable
and experienced tank professional, already
familiar with the tank, can be extremely useful.
The selected full-service tank company should
be educated, certified and have received the
proper safety training necessary to perform
tank inspections, repairs and modifications.
They should be available 365 day a year to
answer questions, address concerns, and be
flexible enough in their scheduling to make
emergency repairs when needed. Please do
not attempt to thaw or drain the tank without
professional help if water freezing does occur;
further damage or a tank rupture could result.
1. Hudson, Bill. “Tough Winter Leaves
Municipal Water Towers Frozen” Minnesota.
cbslocal.com. 14 April 2014.
2. National Fire Protection Association.
NFPA-22. 2008 Edition. 43.
3. Emmanuel, Adeshina and Holliday, Darryl.
“Andersonville Water Tower Removed, Frozen
Solid” DNAinfo.com. 20 March 2014.
4. Hage, Jeff. “Catastrophic break: 500,000
gallons of water emptied from Milaca water
tower in a half hour” The Mille Lacs County
Time.com. 9 January 2014.
5. American Water Works Association.
AWWA Manual M42. 2013 Edition. 91.
6. Suriani, Mike. “Frozen Pumps Leave
West Memphis without Running Water”
WREG.com. 6 January 2014.
About the author: Erika N. Henderson has a bachelor’s
degree in International Relations from University
of Southern Indiana. She has been published in
numerous water publications, and may be contacted
at 270-826-9000 ext 228 or
to answer any questions related to tanks.
Emergency Repairs on 100,000 EWT
Frozen Standpipe
Frozen NY Bolted Tank
