Publications

PROJECT PROFILE: EMCO Waterworks
ZCL Tanks Provide the Solution
for ATCO/Siemens Project
“…making the
logistics of electrical
transmission a reality
for Albertans.”
By Chad Placsko, Water Management
Specialist, EMCO Waterworks, Calgary
With sustainable power consumption on
the rise, ATCO and Siemens have teamed
up to meet this ever growing demand. The
Newell ATCO site near Brooks, Alberta
has been a beehive of activity this year
creating a convertor station that changes
AC power to DC power, making the
logistics of electrical transmission a reality
for Albertans.
The project itself was an exciting challenge
for the owners, the engineers working on
the system, and the contractor that was
hired to make this plan a reality. As the
location of the site was remote, each aspect
of the project needed to be calculated
carefully. EMCO Waterworks in Calgary
was charged with the responsibility to
“Project Manage” the purchasing and
supply of most of the project items
required, including twelve large ZCL
Fiberglass tanks. ZCL tanks were
chosen for a variety of reasons. They are
watertight, lightweight, easy to install, and
corrosion resistant. ZCL’s unique outside-in
fabrication process and fully integrated rib
structure result in tanks that can withstand
the pressures of being submerged in water
to grade while empty with simultaneous
H-20 traffic loads. Being underground these
tanks don’t take up valuable land space
and eliminate concerns relating to frost and
freezing. Unlike above-ground tanks that
can create a negative visual impact, the
ZCL tanks also make the property more
aesthetically pleasing.
Seven of the ZCL tanks were used as part
of the project’s fire suppression system - a
holding tank system allowing for nearly
a million liters of emergency and fire
suppression water to be pumped through
almost a kilometer of IPEX pipe. The
system creates a fire loop that feeds eight
separate hydrants. The largest of the tanks
measures over 70 feet long and 10 feet in
diameter. Using a trombone trailer, Spruce
Valley Carriers transported the tanks
which were delivered to the site and then
craned into place. The tanks are connected
through a header system that feeds a 16”
pump that pressurizes the system, on
standby and ready for usage as required.
Two of the remaining five tanks were
designed for both a potable water holding
system and a centralized septic holding
tank, and three of the tanks were designed
to handle the septic drainage associated
with individual buildings around the site.
The ZCL tanks are anchored to the ground
with an engineered system of precast
concrete anchors and specially fabricated
fiberglass straps allowing them to stay in
place after backfill, even when empty. The
fourteen straps holding down the largest
of the tanks are attached to the concrete
anchors with turnbuckles. The tanks
themselves are a single-walled design,
fabricated with vents and “manways” to
allow access and entry if needed. The grid
of seven tanks is tied together with a header
to equalize the levels as well as to drain
them evenly if needed in an emergency.
Water is a growing concern for many
projects such as this. The ability to be
self-sufficient in this regard was of vital
interest to ATCO and Siemens. The ZCL
tanks allow each water-related step of this
project to be maintained and sustained for
years to come.
PROJECT PARTNERS
Owner: ATCO Electrical
Prime Contractor: Siemens Canada
Electrical / Civil General: Black &
McDonald, ON
Civil Contractor: Four Season Site
Development, ON
Tank Supplier: EMCO Calgary
For more information on this project or the
tanks shown, contact your local EMCO
Waterworks location.
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