The city is planning to rehabilitate the 33rd Street water storage tank rather than building a new one that would cost about $10 million more.

City staff are recommending that commissioners award a contract for $2,941,050 to DN Tanks for rehabilitation project.

City staff told commissioners earlier this month that 33rd Street water tank is projected at $12 million for a new five million gallon tank, rather than the cost to rehabilitate the tank.

The 33rd Street water storage tank was constructed in the mid 1940’s and this type of water storage tank typically has a useable life of approximately 100 years, according to city staff.

It is one of two water tanks on the main zone that serves two-thirds of the city.

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It stores 4.75 million gallons of water, which is 50 percent of the city’s total water storage capacity, according to city staff. It’s one of two water tanks on the main zone that serve the majority of the city, from the Civic Center to Malmstrom Air Force Base, south of the Missouri River, according to the city.

During the annual inspection, the dive crew noted cracking on the inner wall and excessive water leaking out of the tank.

Jason Fladland, city water plant branch manager, told commissioners during the April 2 work session that they’d had problems with this tank for years.

City staff estimates the amount of water leaking out of the tank to be about 50 gallons per minute, or 26 million gallons per year.

Fladland said they found the original contractor for the tank and that they have a repair.

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The City retained Burns and McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. to complete an evaluation of the tank.

The new tank will be rehabilitated and lined, with a 20-year warranty and extend the tank’s lifespan by at least 10 years, as well as decrease the water lots through leaks, according to staff.

In October, commissioners awarded a $366,365 contract to Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, or AE2S, for design and inspection services for the 33rd Street water storage tank rehabilitation.

Fladland said that staff did a trial run and operated the city water system without the 33rd Street tank. He said no one noticed the difference as they were able to use other tanks for water storage. The city plans to do the project this fall when demand is low.

The extended lifespan gives the city time to develop “the most effective and efficient long-term (100-year) strategy on water storage infrastructure,” according to staff.

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Fladland said he estimates it will take about 12 weeks to repair the 33rd Street tank.

AE2S has designed and will provide construction administration and necessary certification documents.

The city received one bid for the project but “there are only a handful of companies that are qualified to do this type of work throughout the country,” according to staff.

DN Tanks, the original designer of the tank, submitted a bid of $2,941,050, which was within six percent of the engineer’s estimate.

Water enterprise funds have been programmed and budgeted for this project, which was selected and prioritized under the public works capital improvement program.