Walls are up in Green Patch water tank build

Work on SA Water’s new 32-million-litre concrete water tank in Green Patch has reached a major milestone, with all 112 panels craned into place to form the 88-metre-wide structure.

Delivered over the course of 30 round trips from an Adelaide-based manufacturer by local Port Lincoln trucking business, Harder Transport, each pre-cast panel weighs around 10 tonnes and typically took 30 minutes to erect and brace into position.

Together with SA Water and major construction partner McConnell Dowell Diona joint venture, Port Lincoln business Shillabeer Crane Hire deployed a 100-tonne mobile slew crane to guide the six-metre-high panels around the water storage’s perimeter.

SA Water’s General Manager of Sustainable Infrastructure Amanda Lewry said the tank’s modular construction methodology enabled crews to build the tank’s structure in two weeks.

“Construction of our new tank is progressing at pace and we’re on track to have it supplying safe, clean drinking water to our customers across the Eye Peninsula by the end of this year,” Amanda said.

“The tank’s modular design is underpinning a more cost-effective and efficient construction, with the pre-cast panels delivering a 75 per cent time saving when compared to traditional methodologies such as pouring the concrete or building internal columns.

“Two high-grade steel chains were attached to fixing points on each panel before they were lifted into place by the crane, and for the safety of our crews, we performed daily ‘toolbox talks’ to assess weather conditions and had two spotters in place during every lift.

“Once a panel was positioned along the perimeter, it was braced with temporary props to transfer the load from the wall to the ground and once they were all erected, high-strength steel tendons are thread through internal ducts within the panels to secure them together.

“With the tank’s structure now in place, we’ll begin installing the geomembrane liner and floating cover which will seal the inside of the tank and protect the quality of drinking water once the tank is filled and in operation.

“Our site is a hive of activity and we’re now seeing around 25 full-time employees working on the new storage, including from several local businesses across our supply chain.”

SA Water completed the construction of another concrete water tank – holding a capacity of 10 million litres – in early 2021, with the new larger storage tank being built adjacent to the existing tank.

Water stored in the new tank will supply homes and businesses in towns such as Port Lincoln, and as far west as Ceduna.

Once completed, SA Water’s total water storage capacity at the Green Patch site will increase to more than 50 million litres of drinking water, enhancing the Eyre Peninsula’s water security.

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