Projects
U. S. Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories
Nevada
ASTS Incorporated (ASTS) was contracted by the U.S. Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories to design replacement facilities for two key water systems located at the U.S.Air Force's Tonopah Test Range in Nevada.
Both the interior and exterior of the three existing domestic water supply storage tanks required recoating or full replacement. It was determined during the design that it would be more cost effective to replace an existing elevated and two ground storage tanks with a single 200,000 gallon elevated tank, allowing for a more maintenance free system with fewer motors and pumps to install and maintain.
The existing domestic water system had a significant amount of old cast iron and AC distribution pipe, frozen valves, a non-functioning chlorinator system, and lacked backflow preventers between the domestic water system and the Fire Protection (FP) system. The solution was to provide a new domestic/fire protection distribution system.
The project ultimately replaced critical components of the domestic water systems in both areas, as well as the fire suppression system throughout one of the areas. A building to house a new water treatment plant was also designed.
One of the key challenges of this project was to insure that the old system was maintained and functioning until the new system was on line. This was accomplished through a careful plan and a step-by-step execution which resulted in which resulted in minimal disruption to operations during construction.
The success of this project prompted Sandia National Laboratories to invite ASTS to submit a design proposal for the new Water Treatment Plant for the new water system. This proposal is pending.