Arlington, VA

LEE HEIGHTS STORAGE TANK

Project Basic Information

Project Name:  Lee Heights Reservoir Tank 1 & 2 Rehabilitation (Domed Roofs)

Location: Arlington, VA

Application Date:  Fall 2021

Size:  14,400 sq. ft.

Products Used: TechCrete 2500 Waterproofing Agent

Applicator:  Freyssinet, Inc. - USA

Specifier:  Whitman, Requardt & Associates, LLP – Bruce English - Richmond, VA

Structure Owner: Department of Environmental Services

Project Warranty:  10-Year Material Only Warranty

THE CHALLENGE

The Lee Heights water storage tanks were built in 1957, with domed roofs made of structural concrete. The two tanks store a combined total of 6 million gallons of potable water for the use of the local community.  Over the years, the concrete tanks had deteriorated to the point where several hundreds of thousands of dollars of repairs were required.  

Once the rehabilitation work was completed, the challenge was to determine what the best long-term waterproofing solution was.  The decision was made to use the award-winning TechCrete 2500 Waterproofing System by Alchemco, to protect the domed roofs on both tanks.  

That decision was arrived at when they realized that the combination of: speed-of-application (short downtime for the tanks) … the use of a sub-surface waterproofing membrane (cannot be damaged) … the fact that this system is ‘potable water certified’ (NSF-61 tested) … and the long-term protection it provides (with a half-century of proven performance around the globe) made this waterproofing system the best solution for the project.


THE SOLUTION

In this case, the owner & specifier chose to use Alchemco’s TechCrete 2500 Waterproofing System to provide long-term protection.  Since it only requires a one-time application to provide waterproofing, it gave the owner a clear-cut advantage over having to continually re-coat the domed roofs every 5 – 10 years.  The cost savings over the 50-year design life of the water tanks are substantial.  That, combined with the fact that TechCrete 2500 is potable water certified (NSF-61 tested), allowing it to be used to protect drinking water containment vessels, made it the obvious choice.

THE RESULTS

The project proceeded and was completed on time, with no disruption to the performance of the water storage tanks.  It was completed in days, instead of weeks … and has performed flawlessly since the application in 2021.