KWA readies design of new water tank at Thammanam

The tank, which is set to come up on the land owned by the public utility at Thammanam, is planned in the wake of the partial collapse of the 1.35-crore-litre water tank, which led to a temporary crisis in the city.

The proposed ground-level tank will be 41 metres long and 17 metres wide and will have two compartments, each having a capacity of 17.5 lakh litres. The height of the water column in the new tank will be 5.4 metres as opposed to 4.2 metres in the old tank. The initial design has been shared with the high-level authority constituted following the collapse of the twin-towered tank.

It is learned that the tank, which was commissioned in 1985, partially collapsed after the foundation sank into the soil. A deep pile foundation has been proposed as part of the design to make the foundation strong. “Sand piling was used for the old tank. Now, we have proposed a reinforced concrete piling for the new tank. Further, a monolithic seamless structure without joints is being planned for the new tank,” said sources in the KWA.

Since the tank will be subjected to a higher water column, all the walls will be reinforced by buttresses or columns. The height of the water column will be higher in the proposed tank to ensure the status quo and maintain pressure. “Owing to space constraints, we cannot think of a big tank. So, we have proposed a 35 lakh litre tank,” the sources said. The tank will be spread out in an area of around 20 cents.