Chemical Storage Building Photos

In early 2010, CWLP broke ground for a new chemical storage and feed building at the utility's Stevenson Drive Water Purification Plant. The building will add an extra 7,500 square feet of storage and work space to the water plant, which was originally completed in 1936, and will provide plant employees with a larger space in which to store some of the chemicals used in the water treatment process and safer methods by which to disperse those chemicals into the water. In addition, the two-story east end of the building will house an additional laboratory, an electrical room where transformers and main breakers used to upgrade the existing building's 1950s-era electrical system will be located, and a large training room.

The new building, which will connect to the existing plant via two hallways, is expected to be completed in early 2011. Funding for the $4.6 million project is being made possible through the federal government's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's Public Water Supply Revolving Loan Program, which are providing a 0%-interest loan for 75% of the needed capital and 100% principal forgiveness for the remaining 25%. In essence, the principal forgiveness amounts to a $1.2 million grant.

(1) This artist's rendering shows the Water Purification Plant prior to the addition of the new, larger chemical storage and feed facility. (The small building to the far right is the sludge house, which will remain in service after the chemical storage building is completed.)
(2) This rendering shows what the plant will look like after construction of the new chemical storage and feed building is completed. (This rendering does not include the sludge house, which will be located in front of the one-story west wing of the new building.)
(3) March 2010 – Excavation for the building grade beams and caisson caps is underway. Because the site was composed of fill dirt from the original 1930s construction of the Water Purification Plant, traditional spread footings would not provide sufficient stability for the new chemical storage and feed building. Therefore, the foundation was designed as a caisson/grade beam system, which consists of drilled concrete cylinders (caissons) that extend down to shale or rock material to provide greater load carrying capacity. Grade beams, rectangular concrete structures built to span the caissons, will provide the foundation walls upon which the building's floor and exterior walls will rest.		(4) April 2010 – Mud slabs for the caisson caps are installed. For this project, 26 caissons were drilled to transfer the load of the new building to the undisturbed shale located approximately 28-32 feet below the original ground level.
(5) April 2010 – Form work for the grade beams of the building's west end is erected. Concrete will be poured into this form to create the grade beams for this one-story section of the Chemical Storage and Feed Building. Once the concrete has hardened, the wooden form will be removed.		(6) April 2010 – Workers lay conduits that will carry electrical wiring needed to power the new building, as well as the wiring associated with the electrical upgrades being made to the existing water plant facility.
(7) April 2010 – The electrical conduits are encased in concrete.		(8) May 2010 – Subgrade work is underway for the section of the building's east end that will house the new operator's laboratory.
(9) May 2010 – Preparations are underway to pour the east-end floor slab.		(10) May 2010 – The subgrade for the new lab's floor slab is nearly complete
(11) May 2010 – Concrete for the floor slab of the building's west end has been poured and is in the process of curing.		(12) June 2010 – With the floor slab concrete completely cured, workers can begin erecting the exterior CMU walls for the building's west end. A CMU (concrete masonry unit) wall is composed of concrete blocks with voids into which additional concrete, sometimes reinforced by rebar, can be poured to further strengthen the wall.
(13) July 2010 – Construction of the west-end section's exterior walls is nearly complete. This part of the building will house the water plant's chemical storage and feed facilities.		(14) July 2010 – Erection of the interior chemical containment berm is underway in the west end of the building. The berm is a special wall designed to contain any chemical spills that might occur, pre-venting them from spreading to other parts of the building.
(15) July 2010 – Construction of the north exterior CMU wall of the building's east end is underway.		(16) September 2010 – With construction of the block walls completed, installation of the brick exterior is well underway, although the majority of the building's northern (front) exposure still remains bare.
(17) September 2010 – Bricking of the south side of the chemical storage and feed wing is partially completed. The as-yet unbricked inset area in the right half of the photo is the bulk and day tank storage area for ferric sulfate/ferric chloride.		(18) September 2010 – The layout of the interior of the chemical feed area (east end of the chemical storage and feed wing) is taking shape, but most of the finishing detail work—including painting, window and door installation—has yet to be started.
(19) September 2010 – Two phosphate bulk storage tanks are already in position inside the chemical storage area. Before the building is completed, this area will contain a several other similar storage tanks.