Water towers & tower-mounted water storage tanks:

Water towers are widely used not just to store water but to deliver water at good pressure to a community of buildings and users. This article describes tower-mounted water storage tanks, where they are used, how they work, and the use of booster pumps to improve water pressure in buildings with water storage tanks.

We include water tower design considerations, codes and standard references & citations. We also discuss using a booster pump to improve building water pressure in buildings with weak municipal water pressure or the storage of water where water supply is limited or water replenishment is only seasonally available. Shown at page top: a hilltop water tower supplying the community of Atascadero in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.

Large Water Storage Tanks on Towers or Free-standing Water Tanks at Ground Level

Elevated tower-supported water storage tanks are used both to store water and to provide water at pressure to individual buildings, building sites, or entire communities, as we illustrate in the photographs below.

At left is a sketch showing a traditional water storage tank on a tower connected to and located adjacent to a water well.

[Click to enlarge any image]

Below we illustrate water storage towers of several shapes and types and found in several locations and countries including in order: Brunswick Georgia (immediately below), U.S., The Taboada Hot Springs, Guanajuato, Mexico, and in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photos © Daniel Friedman.

Below: a water tower at the Taboada Hot Springs, Guanajuato, Mexico,

Design considerations for water storage tanks & their supporting towers

Above is a large above-ground water storage tank at Gogorron in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. This is a low tower supported on two large stone piers. Higher water towers need to meet wind and other loading specifications.

• Covering: to protect the stored water against contamination.
• Overflow handling: to direct overflow to ground level

Below we illustrate a horizontal cylindrical water storage tank at a damp in Dutchess County, New York in the U.S. This is an enclosed tank (there is not an overflow issue) fed by a pump from a local well at a camp.

• Circulation within the storage facility
• Gravity loads: the dead weight of materials of the water tower & storage tank construction
• Live Loads: the varying weight of water stored in the tank depending on the water level to which the tank is filled.

Below: a water tower in the City of Buenos Aires.

• Wind Loads: varying by terrain conditions and geographic area, water towers need to withstand loads from hurricanes, hilltop winds, confined areas creating a wind-tunnel effect.
  
  The design engineer or architect for a water tower will consult a data source such as the International Building Code (IBC) where the code provides wind speed data at 30 feet above ground, and will add consideration for tower height, shape, location within local terrain, weather exposure (sun, snow, wind), etc.
  
  For example a design wind speed of 80 mph translates to a surface pressure of 18 psf (0.00256 * the speed of the wind); tower designs need to allow for the maximum anticipated wind speed at the site. In coastal areas this may mean a wind speed allowance of 150 mph.
• Fire code concerns: exposure to wild fires
• Enclosed non-residential towers vs. enclosed structures that may add heating requirements
• Access: for inspection, water tower interior cleaning, inspection & testing, maintenance, repair: ladders, stairs, etc. as well as light & ventilation for enclosed structures.

Water Tower Construction Standards & References

The water tower above, at the San Miguel de Allende railroad station, has been elevated to deliver water at functional pressure to the nearby community.

• NFPA 22: Standard for Water Tanks for Private Fire Protection
• Bhardwaj, Vipin, "Reservoirs, Towers and Tanks, Drinking Water Storage Facilities", National Drinking Water Clearinghouse, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6064, Morgantown, WV 26506-6064, retrieved 4/15/14, original source: http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/pdf/dw/publications/ontap/2009_tb/reservoirs_towers_tanks_dwfsom15.pdf
• HDR Engineering, Inc. 2001. Handbook of Public Water Systems . 2nd Edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.: New York, New York
• Hobbs, Aubrey Thomas (ed.) 1969. Manual of British Water Engineering Practice . Vol 2. W. Heffer and Sons, Ltd: Cambridge, England
• "Fall protection requirements for workers constructing a water tower while on a scaffold", US Department of Labor, OSHA, Standard 1926.451(g) and others, retrieved 4/15/14, original source https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document? p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=25047
• Rivera, Ray, Ruynyeon, Frank G., Buettner, Russ, "Inside City's Water Tanks, Layers of Neglect", The New York Times, 27 January 2014
• The New York Times, "E. Coli Found in Water Towers at NYC Buildings: Report The city says the water towers are safe", The New York Times, 27 January 2014 - Excerpt
  The city told the paper that its tanks -- the more than 10,000 of them currently in use -- are all safe and that health inspection standards are up to par. Though dozens of New Yorkers have called 311 each year to complain they've gotten sick from drinking tap water, the city says none of the illnesses have been traced back to the tanks, according to the Times.
• "WAC 468-240-205 Obstruction lighting standards—Water towers, grain elevators, gas holders and similar obstructions.", Washington State Legislature, retrieved 4/15/14, original source: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=468-240-205
• "Water Tower", Princeton University, www.princeton.edu, retrieved 4/15/14, original source: https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Water_tower.html also cited at Wikipedia below
• "Water Towers, Building Code, Design & Geologic Notes", water-towers.com, retrieved 4/15/14, original source: http://www.water-towers.com/WtrsCodeNote1.html
• "Water Tower", Wikipedia, retrieved 4/15/14, original source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_tower etc. The illustration at page top is courtesy of Carson Dunlop, Inc. in Toronto.

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2018-04-27 - by (mod) -

Yes Bart

Here is a copy of FINISHED WATER STORAGE REGULATIONS for Massachusetts - a PDF file

https://inspectapedia.com/water/Finished-Water-Storage-Regulations-MA.pdf

retrieved 2018/04/27, original source: http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dep/water/laws/a-thru-h/glchpt8.pdf

On 2018-04-25 by Bart Foley

In the town of Wilmington Ma an existing water reservoir is being replaced. The new location is 60 feet off the property line.
This puts the tower approximately 100" from my house, currently approximately 200".
My question is are there regulations on the placement of the tower relative to residential property/ homes.
Thank you

On 2018-02-02 - by (mod) -

Darrell

That's a perfectly reasonable engineering question that not even a licensed structural engineer would be happy trying to answer without more information including the nature of the supporting structure, the number of legs, and probably other measurements like diameter.

On 2018-02-02 by Darrell

I need to raise a 2500 gallon water tank 6 feet. What size timbers should I use for legs?

Question:

I have a gravity water tank roof top on my house-Water is pumped up by the city when working ok-When the water (municipal) is not working I use the roof tank,

Generally what I do is shut the valve off at the street, then open the valve on the rooftop tank and it gravity feeds down into house.

The tank is located rooftop has 1 line going into the top of the tank for the inlet of water into the tank, the other lines is at the bottom that the water go's into the house..

Where would the check valve be located at? Best place to install it?

Will it interfere with the pressure if the water is only gravity with no pump?

Thank you,

James C. 6/27/2014

Reply:

I'd put the check valve on the tank side of the shutoff controlling water coming from the street main. In that location the check valve will not be between the tank serving as the building water source and the fixtures and piping that the tank serves.

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CHECK VALVES, WATER SUPPLY, DRAINS, PUMPS

WATER TANK DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR - home

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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

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