Tanks That Last Forever

Rich Horn of CB&I provides an education on water tanks while touting the strength, size, and additional benefits of the company’s storage systems.

Todd Schnick: We’re coming to you live from Dallas, Texas. This is day three of AWWA ACE12 and Water Online Radio. I’m your host, Todd Schnick, joined by my colleague, Todd Youngblood. Todd, this next guy is going to be a troublemaker, I think.

Todd Youngblood: Well, I was a little concerned with the nature of the sound test that we did. [Laughter] I think I’ll not share the details.

Todd Schnick: Yeah. Well, I’m excited to welcome to the show Rich Horn, who is a Regional Sales Manager for the Midwest with CB&I. Welcome to the show, Rich.

Rich: Yes. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

Todd Schnick: Well, it is our pleasure to have you, Rich. Before we get into it, do take a second and just tell us a little bit about you and your background.

Rich: My background: I’ve been with CB&I – it’s also known as Chicago Bridge and Iron Company. Been with the company now 38 years. Hired right out of college.

Todd Schnick: Wow. Well, gosh, tell us all about CB&I. What kind of services are you doing for your market?

Rich: CB&I has been in business since 1889. But we’re no longer in Chicago, we no longer build bridges, and we no longer make anything out of iron. [Laughter] But in that respect, most of our products we make are steel plate structures, such as elevated water storage tanks or groundwater storage tanks.

Todd Schnick: Now, Rich, I got to admit, I’m no expert on water tanks, but I got to believe there’s probably a whole heck of a lot more to it than I know about. Are there more popular styles and types of water tanks?

Rich: Yeah, you bet, Todd. Probably the most popular style is what we call a Waterspheroid. It’s kind of like what I call a golf ball on a tee. Where the water’s stored just up in the ball. And with that height up there, it gives the water pressure when people turn on their tap.

Todd Schnick: Rich, what are some of the ways that water system operators can reduce stagnant or off-taste water from their storage systems?

Rich: Well, probably the easiest way is to turn your water over in the tank every 24 hours. Or certainly in the two-day span in hot areas like Dallas here – we’re up into the 95 and 100 degrees – you’re going to get stagnation of your water. And with that, could lead to some odor in your water as well as some foul-tasting water. And one of the products that we have to get around that is what we call FreshMix.

Where it’s a tube type eductor, where water comes in the bottom of the tank. And there’s a tube that has some space above it, say 18 inches, and the water gets sucked up with the energy of the water in it. The water that’s in the tank gets sucked up through this tube that may be 15, 20 feet high, and comes out the top. And the water can mix in ratios up to 3-to-1.

And with that, chlorine content and so forth in the water is maintained, and it helps eliminate that foul-tasting water and the odors.

Todd Schnick: Rich, I got to tell you. When I was a kid, I just always had this fantasy of being able to climb up that little ladder with the cage around it, up to the top of the water tank. But there’s a lot of different concerns now – environmental and aesthetics and everything, of the elevated tanks versus in-ground tanks. How does a municipality make a decision on which one’s better?

Rich: Well, part of that is looking at their energy costs for pumping. If you’ve got a tank that’s in-ground, or even on the ground, you're going to have to pump to service your distribution area. If you have an elevated tank, basically what you're doing there is pumping the water up into that elevated tank at very low electricity rates – say, four cents per kilowatt-hour. And then you gravity flow during the day, when there’s peak electricity costs.

Our friends at the utility companies have figured out that they can make more money by charging higher rates during peak demand for electricity, which is also peak demand for water as well. And it could cost you 10 to 12 cents per kilowatt-hour if you're pumping during those times. So that’s why elevated water storage tanks make sense in high electricity areas.

Todd Schnick: Rich, for potable water tanks, are there special requirements for the services that come in contact with the water?

Rich: Yeah, you bet. NSF is required. National Sanitation Foundation certifies all materials that come in contact with potable water. All our welded steel storage tanks are coated with linings there, they're all NSF-approved. And they're tested and so forth, before they can ever be certified to be applied and be in a water distribution system.

Todd Schnick: Rich, I got a two-part question about my favorite topic, and that’s cash. If I’m a municipality, I’m pretty concerned about the financial aspects of running a water utility. And if I’m looking at a water tank, I got to think about, “How long’s the thing going to last?”

That’s the first part of the question. And then second, just maintenance costs of the thing. Enlighten us a little bit in that regard.

Rich: You bet. There’s a lot of different tank styles out there available to customers, owners and consultants, and so forth. Really, we feel that welded steel storage tanks, with these NSF linings, if properly applied, and if the tanks are regularly inspected and maintained, can last indefinitely.

We’re currently members of the Steel Plate Fabricators Association, and through the association, we have the Century Club. These are actually tanks that have been in service for over 100 years, and continue to be in service. So in my mind, yes. If properly maintained and inspected, they could last indefinitely.

Todd Schnick: So a tank’s going to last longer than even me.

Rich: Very well could be.

Todd Youngblood: That’s an old tank. [Laughter]

Rich: And sometimes in tornadoes and that kind of thing, we hope someone would go down. I’ve got a video of an F5 tornado going right over one of our elevated water storage tanks at 315 miles per hour, the fastest winds ever recorded on earth, and the tank’s still standing there. No movement at all.

Todd Youngblood: [Laughter] Man, I want to see that.

Todd Schnick: That’s impressive.

Todd Youngblood: Yes.

Todd Schnick: Rich, I’m just curious. What is the largest capacity elevated tank ever made?

Rich: Well, we have built a 4.1 million gallon tank.

Todd Schnick: Oh, that’s huge.

Rich: Yeah. That’s a pretty large tank.

Todd Youngblood: Elevated?

Rich: Elevated tank, no less. We have just finished a 4 million gallon tank for the city of Keokuk, Iowa. And that’s just been put in service of the last year here, and actually won the Steel Plate Fabricators Elevated Tank of the Year Award.

Todd Schnick: How big is that? I mean, is it like a bus?

Rich: I’ve got an aerial view of this tank, because it’s almost completed. And there is a truck with a trailer down below. And it looks minuscule. It really does.

Todd Schnick: This is some cool stuff. I need to go visit your factory. I’m curious about innovation. And especially from a technological standpoint. Talk a little bit about what you're doing innovating technologically.

Rich: Technologically, the styles of tank and so forth have pretty much been the same here over the last 10, 15, 20 years. We’ve improved a lot over that time period with new coatings.

There’s a lot of new coatings out there that where in the past they might have lasted 15 years, 20 years, now a lot of these new coatings will last you 25 to 30 years. And should cut down the costs for the owner and so forth, and minimize his maintenance in the coming years.

Todd Schnick: Oh heck, Rich. We could talk to you all day about this cool stuff. But I hate to say we’re out of time. Before I let you go, where can people get in touch with you, and where can they learn more information about CB&I?

Rich: Well, Todd, you can always reach us through our website at CBI.com. You’re welcome to email me, Rhorn@CBI.com. Phone number’s appropriate or no?

Todd Schnick: Yes, please.

Rich: 815-439-3100 and ask for Rich Horn. I’d be more than happy to help you.

Todd Schnick: Outstanding. Rich Horn, Regional Sales Manager for the Midwest for CB&I, it was great to have you. Thanks so much for joining us.

Rich: Thanks for having me, Todd.

Todd Schnick: All right. Well, that wraps this segment. On behalf of our guest, Rich Horn, my co-host, Todd Youngblood, all of us at Water Online, I am Todd Schnick, we’ll be right back with our next guest.