Aquastore Glass-fused-to-steel tankThe Village of Lake Hallie, Wisconsin is served by a CST Aquastore® tank that’s older than the town itself. Lake Hallie was incorporated in 2003, 11 years after the tank was built.

The 25-year-old tank has performed so well that the Village hadn’t given it much thought until it commissioned the construction of a brand new Aquastore tank to accommodate the area’s growth.

“The water department told us the existing Aquastore had received little or no maintenance since it was built,” says Bill Barr, co-owner of Great Plains Structures, the authorized Aquastore dealer in the Upper Midwest and Near West. “We inspected the tank and the worst thing we saw was a combination of moss and mildew on the exterior finish.”

The Village’s original Aquastore sits on a hill in a wooded area and corrosion was a concern, but all it took was a little elbow grease to prove the Aquastore tank held up to the harsh conditions of a northern climate that sees big swings in temperature and continuous freezing and thawing.

“We started by cleaning a small section and within minutes you could see the original finish,” says Jason Sixberry, co-owner of Great Plains Structures.

Crews gave the tank a makeover, resealing the edges, power washing the moss and mildew and applying a solvent to remove graffiti and the paint that the owner had applied years ago to cover it. The result? The porcelain enamel shine was fully restored at a minimal cost.

Repainting a welded tank costs more than three times as much as replacing the sealants of an Aquastore tank, which is made of glass fused to steel. A municipal water provider in South Dakota estimates that maintenance for a glass-fused-to-steel tank over a 60-year span would cost $266,000 compared for $906,000 for a painted welded tank.

“A concrete or steel tank in those conditions, over that many years, would require major rehabilitation,” says Barr. “It’s that resiliency that keeps our customers coming back to the Aquastore time and again.”

In addition to the cost, there are aesthetic concerns.

“Any painted surface is going to fade over time and that’s not an image a utility wants to project,” says Sixberry. “Plus, paint is only a temporary barrier against corrosion and needs frequent maintenance and recoating.”

CST Storage is the world’s largest provider of factory coated bolted storage tanks for liquid applications in many markets. And it’s no wonder when you consider the quality that goes into the Aquastore, through a multi-step fabrication process:

After a Quarter Century, Lake Hallie’s Aquastore Tank Remains Corrosion-Free Age: 25+ Corrosion spreads beneath the surface of painted or powder-coated metals, while the porcelain slurry of an Aquastore tank by its nature resists corrosion. And the Aquastore is available in a wide range of colors by mixing pigments into the slurry that’s sprayed and fired onto the steel panel.

“Refined metals and concrete are especially vulnerable to the elements,” says Barr of Great Plains Structures. “Corrosion can impact the life of a tank, so a tank’s susceptibility to rust is one of the first things to consider. The materials used in the tank’s construction will make a difference in how long the tank lasts.”

“The Aquastore taught us an important lesson about downtime and expense,” says village trustee Gary Spilde. “We’ve had zero downtime, not a single day, with that 25-year-old tank, and the impact of something like that on our budget is considerable. That’s one of the main reasons we chose Aquastore for our second tank.”

Lake Hallie is a proud community of 6,448 residents—still young and growing. And the future looks as bright as the lasting finish on both of its Aquastore tanks.

Benefits of CST’s Bolted Tank Technology:

  • All tank parts are factory coated for maximum protection and are easily transported to the job site.
  • Bolted tanks can be erected in 1/3 of the time required to build a field-welded or concrete tank on-site.
  • Tanks can be assembled in even the most remote sites, without large staging areas, and in every season of the year.
  • Bolted tank construction is very conservation-friendly with little disturbance to the surrounding environment.
  • CST bolted tanks are factory coated, so there is no in-field painting required which can expose the environment to harmful silica from sandblasting or paint overspray.
  • Tanks are assembled at ground level using a unique jacking system that progressively elevates the structure to install the panels without the need for expensive cranes or staged scaffolding

OptiDome® geodesic aluminum domes are the preferred cover solution for any storage application. Aluminum dome structures are superior to other cover designs of alternate materials due to: corrosion resistance, low lifetime maintenance cost, clear-span capability, fast and low-cost construction and design flexibility.

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