Overview

The Spook Lane Water Storage Tank Replacement Project in Reading, Pennsylvania, is a 1.0-million-gallon AWWA D110 wire-wound prestressed concrete tank designed for the Mount Penn Borough Municipal Authority (MPBMA) and has reached the end of its useful life. Entech evaluated the replacement of the existing Spook Lane concrete tank with several alternatives including D-110 and D-115 concrete tanks, welded steel tank, and glass-fused to steel bolted tank. We also evaluated shifting the tank to an alternate location to utilize different hydraulics.

Ultimately, the construction of the 1.0 MG AWWA D110 prestressed concrete tank adjacent to the existing tank proved most advantageous to the Authority. Following the study, we provided design, permitting, bidding services, and construction observation and services.

The proposed AWWA D110 style concrete tank will replace an existing concrete tank that was constructed in the 1950’s. Although it is still effective and reliable, the tank has far exceeded its life expectancy and required external repairs over the last 5 years.

The design and permit work for the project included these key items:

• Integration of existing tank and site drawings which used a local elevation datum with new survey data using current vertical datum standards. Confirmed that the new tank overflow elevation matches the overflow elevations of the other tanks in the pressure zone.
• Permitting to demolish the existing tank adjacent to a stream. This required the necessary Chapter 105/106 permits for this work and included rerouting of the stream to its original alignment which had been relocated when the existing tank was constructed
• NPDES permit for total earth disturbance greater than 1.0 acre.
• PA DEP Public Water Supply Permit.
• Local approvals and waivers from Lower Alsace Township including zoning, conditional use, storm water management, and land development approval.
• PA DEP approval as part of the PENNVEST funding.

One unique challenge is the site constraints. The existing tank sits directly adjacent to an active stream. This site condition required additional environmental permitting and further design efforts to ensure that proper measures are taken throughout the construction process.

The project also incorporates work to be done in MPBMA’s distribution system. This includes the installation of flow control valves and SCADA control at an existing booster pump station. These improvements eliminated water age issues that in one of MPBMA’s water storage tanks in their High-Pressure Zone.