Water tank repair, where does one start?Particulary out there in the rural community, we come across the concrete water storage tank where for one reason or another, has become a ‘leaking tank’. Water tank repair for leaks in concrete or steel water tanks, can be caused by a variety of factors and water tank problems are not new. The age-old problem of how to do water tank repair, or whether the water tank replacement option may be viable, or somehow concrete waterproofing with the perfect product? Quite often I will hear the comment “Oh, that tank is at least 100 yrs old and still works fine”. Well, on closer inspection there are hairline cracks, large cracks, a wet area on the other side, all contributing to water loss. And of course, more often than not, the tank is open-top losing thousands of gallons of water each year through evaporation. No offense to anyone, but when I would happen to mention that the tank is having some substantial leak problems, “Oh, that’s nothing to be concerned about!!” It seems that we can easily become accustomed to putting up with leakage from our old water storage tanks. I was faced with one such problem a couple of years back. My wife and I had acquired a lease on a 900+ acre of land in Menard county, Texas. The property had originally been set-up with one steel tank, of moderate size, and a large open-top concrete of approximately 65-66,000 gallons.The new owners had not been able to use this large tank due to it’s inability to hold water ~ at all. They had tried a couple of options to seal cracks in the floor and wall to no avail. (The picture here shows telltale signs of worse things to come. As leaks develop, and freeze in the Winter, widening the crack.)
I suggested a proven tank epoxy brew. This was applied and “walla”, it held, well….., until it filled to about the half way mark. Two days later there was just a slight presence of moisture on the bottom to show water had been in there until just recently. Question ~ where and how was the water getting out? Once we could answer that, I figured we could solve it. Parts of the floor had that hollow sound when you thumped on it, which implied to me that there was a cavity underneath. No doubt getting larger every-time water seeped out. Soil under the base would be contracting away from the tank as it dried. In turn, this would be taking away from the foundation of the tank. So I pursued the line of thought that if the foundation was in trouble, the weight of the water must somehow open up cracks that may not be seen when all drained out. My suspicions were confirmed when I refilled the tank to about half. While walking around on the floor of the tank, barefooted to feel the slightest crack, I came across the answer to the question ~ the water was getting out round the edge of the base. The floor was what I would call ‘floating’. As the weight increased with more water, the floor was sinking down away from the wall, opening up a major ‘gap’. Not a crack because the floor somehow, it seemed from what I could distinquish, return to it’s oringinal position. That was why we could not see the opening once the tank was dry with all the water drained out! What were the options for repair? I firstly researched concrete. Either knocking out the floor and put in a new one. Thought probably easier to do a new smaller tank for same price. Another option I looked at was to cut out openings in the floor to put down concrete footings to reinforce the present floor. Putting on my lateral thinking cap, I came up with the answer. Find a company that makes tank liners to manufacture a custom built liner to drop inside the tank.This would allow for movement of the floor while still being watertight.
With all water storage tanks, I definitely advise a water tank level gauge. This will allow you to monitor not just the water level from a distance, but also if there is a leak in a line. To summarize, leaking water storage tanks can be repaired. When you have tried everything and starting to believe there is no 100% method to stop the leaks, give me a call and I will convince you of the Pioneer Water Tank solution ~ the Aqualiner or Industratex liner (for large water systems). Every retrofitted tank will have a liner and roof fitted to give you a lifetime of trouble-free water storage.
|
