2MG Tank Improvements

September 10, 2019
The Artist Brothers created a beautiful mural! We are so pleased with the outcome and impressed at the skill and speed in which the mural was hand-painted. There are ten Northwest "creatures" on the tank...including one who is pretty famous! Next time you're at our office, see if you can spot all of them!

August 16, 2019
We’ve made it to the final weeks of the 2MG Tank Improvement Project! While the subcontractor is finishing some minor painting on the tank, the mural application has started. On Thursday, the Artist Brothers began creating the trees. During the next 7-9 days, they will be working from a lift to paint the 90-foot tall tank with landscape and wildlife. We can wait to see the finished design!

August 5, 2019
Last week, the contractor finished applying the final coat of paint on the exterior of the tank, and this week the containment system and scaffolding started coming down. Some areas still need to be touched up before the artist arrives to install the new mural. The tank is currently painted with the mural base colors, and during the week of August 12, the artist will be onsite to paint the new mural design. We are excited to capture the mural process!

July 19, 2019
This week, we reached another milestone. With a few minor exceptions, the contractor has finished sandblasting the exterior of the tank and have already primed the bare steel. Today, the contractor began installing the intermediate coat of paint and in about 1-1/2 weeks, they will install the finish coat. Weather can still affect the work, but it looks like we are expecting a stretch of good weather, and should be able to make a lot of progress. Once the finish coat is applied, the containment system will be removed and in the first couple of weeks in August, the artist will be onsite to install the mural.

July 3, 2019
Earlier this week, we started utilizing the 2-million gallon tank again to supply water to our distribution system. Although we’ve completed the work inside the tank, the contractor is still working on removing the old paint and putting a prime coat of paint on the outside. We anticipate that the sandblasting will be finished this week, and next week crews will start putting on the intermediate coat. Our goal is to have the painting finished and the scaffolding removed by the end of July, just in time for the artist to paint the new mural.

June 10, 2019
We are approaching a big milestone with this project! Last week, the contractor finished painting the tank’s internal walls and roof, and the District’s coating inspector approved the work. This allowed the crews to get inside and finish installing the internal pipe and valves. By the end of last week, the welders were back to weld the removed door sheet back into place. Once the subcontractor finishes painting the door sheet and the tank floor, they will wash and disinfect the interior. The District should be able to put the tank back into service sometime next week. In addition, work continues on the exterior of the tank. Approximately 1/4 of the tank has been sandblasted and primed. We have approximately two to three weeks left to paint the exterior of the tank and begin removing the scaffolding. Once the scaffolding is removed, the artist will begin the installing the new mural.

May 10, 2019
This week, the scaffolding was raised and crews began installing a plastic containment system. By this time next week, the existing mural will be covered up and removed from the tank. The interior coating is close to being done, and the team will be moving on to the exterior coating. The view this week form the top of the tank was beautiful!

May 3, 2019
This week, the painting subcontractor has continued to remove the coating, or paint, from the interior of the tank, while another subcontractor installs staging around the perimeter of the tank. Next week, the crew will hang plastic sheeting around the staging to contain the blast material and paint when they proceed with work on the exterior of the tank. This will be the last chance to view the existing mural on the tank.

April 19, 2019
The next phase of the project started this week: painting the interior of the tank. The contractor is currently removing all paint from the interior of the tank, right down to bare steel. In order to keep the steel from rusting until it is painted next week, the atmosphere in the tank needs to stay dry. Therefore, dehumidification equipment will need to run throughout the day and night. During the day, the sandblasting activities are noticeably loud outside of the tank, and they are even louder inside!

April 12, 2019
This has been a busy week! The steel welders have been working hard to get all the components welded to the tank before interior painting starts next week, while another crew worked on replacing the old underground piping. In addition, the painting contractor has been delivering a lot of big equipment for the interior painting work: a large generator, which has been sized to help minimize noise, a large dust collection system, and other blasting equipment.

While they paint the interior of the tank beginning next week, some of the generators and dehumidifying equipment may need to run through the night. The contractor will make every effort to minimize noise levels. Each day, we will assess the impacts of the equipment, and if changes are needed, we will look into alternative solutions. Proper environmental controls and protection of the bare steel are critical towards protecting the tank long into the future, so please be patient with us as we move forward into this phase of the project.

April 8, 2019
We have finished the installation of steel stiffeners on the tank wall. These stiffeners will allow the tank to be more resistant to swaying during an earthquakes and prevent buckling of the steel. Now we will begin welding the steel plate floor together and installing the new manways.

March 22, 2019
On Thursday, crews installed a concrete mat, or pad inside of the tank. The weight of the concrete is designed to further stabilize the tank in the event of an earthquake. The concrete mat is four feet deep and 62 feet in diameter. Over the course of seven hours, 41 concrete trucks delivered 452 cubic yards of concrete. The weight of all this concrete (not including the steel reinforcement bar) is 1,831,000 pounds or 915 tons!

March 15, 2019
Construction activities have started around the large 2-million-gallon water storage tank in our parking lot for the seismic retrofit upgrades! This week, the crews opened up an access point to get inside the empty tank and begin the process for pouring the concrete base next week. Steel reinforcing bar (or rebar for short) is being installed to strengthen the new concrete base that will be four feet deep! If you plan to visit our offices next week, please take extra care as you enter and exit the property and follow all posted signage.