Township’s Water System
New Water Storage Tank and Transmission Main
Pequannock, NJ
The Township’s water system was a pumped storage system in which continuous pumping was required to maintain water pressure in the distribution system. We recommended that this systems be replaced with a gravity storage tank to allow the water pressure in the distribution system to be maintained without continuous pumping, and therefore, reduce energy costs.
Additionally, the Township’s pumped storage reservoir was in need of costly refurbishment and the Township preferred to use its funds for a new tank. During the years leading up to this project, our team and the Township investigated several potential tank sites and eventually found a suitable site, which was located within the Highlands Preservation Area.
We performed a hydraulic evaluation to determine the design parameters for the new water storage tank and water transmission main and verify that water pressure and availability for fire protection would be comparable to the current conditions. Pressure recorders were installed on fire hydrants at various locations throughout the water distribution system to measure water pressure and verify the hydraulic computer model of the Township’s water distribution system that was previously created and calibrated by us. Once the hydraulic computer model was verified, hydraulic simulations were run for the proposed water storage tank and transmission main. The results of the hydraulic simulations indicated that the water available for fire protection at various locations throughout the Township was expected to meet or exceed existing conditions. Additionally, the pressure throughout the water distribution system was expected to remain consistent with the pressures currently experienced.
Based on the results of the computer simulations, we determined that the new water transmission main, which would connect the new water storage tank to the water distribution system, would be constructed using 16-inch diameter ductile iron pipe and would extend out into the water distribution system to improve the hydraulics of the distribution system and allow the Township to remove the pumped storage system from service. The tank was designed as an AWWA D110 concrete water storage tank with a capacity of 1.1 million gallons.
The tank and approximately 11,000 linear feet of water transmission main and appurtenances enhanced the Township’s water distribution system and upgraded it from a pumped storage system to a gravity system. The project was subject to received regulatory approval from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) due to its location.
