Visitors who come to Pocahontas County in West Virginia each winter hope for one thing: snow…and lots of it. The world-famous Snowshoe Mountain Resort is known for skiing, and thousands of visitors flock here every year to enjoy its picturesque views and winter attractions. What visitors see when they arrive is beautiful West Virginia mountains featuring ski resort, trails, forest and opportunities to enjoy the snow. However, what visitors don’t see is probably one of the most vital, and interesting, features of Snowshoe Mountain.

extreme-climate-proves-a-good-challenge-for-35-year-old-aquastore-tank-at-snowshoe-mountainThe Cheat Mountain Water Company, a private utility, is responsible for the care of the potable water needs of Snowshoe Mountain and the surrounding area. Pocahontas County Public Service District provides for some of the area’s wastewater needs. It would be hard for winter visitors to imagine the summer days that reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit here, as well as the extreme climate changes from cold to heat at Snowshoe Mountain, which make the care of water and wastewater infrastructure a challenge.

The challenging climate also makes it surprising to find that the Water Plant’s oldest potable water tank, an Aquastore tank provided by Mid Atlantic Storage Systems capable of storage for 500,000 gallons recently celebrated 38 years in service without significant maintenance.

During the past 38 years, the increasing number of visitors to Snowshoe Mountain has required the Water Company to expand operations. In 2003 Snowshoe Mountain vertically expanded its existing 2,000,000 gallon equalization (EQ) tank, originally built in 1998, to accommodate an additional 1,230,000 gallons. In 2004 a new 500,000-gallon potable water tank was installed next to the original.

In 2009 when the water company moved overflows and installed replacement sheets, it was surprised to find upon inspection that the interior of the 38-year old Aquastore tank was in near perfect condition.

“Aquastore tanks feature a unique glass-fused-to-steel interior and exterior coating, which is the most durable coating available,” said Jim Wary, Regional Sales Manager for Mid-Atlantic Storage Systems. “The glass withstands the extreme cold in the winter, as well as the extreme heat of heat of summer. And these tanks never need to be re-painted. Given the good maintenance performed regularly by the water company, it wasn’t surprising to find this tank in excellent condition and able to continue performing well for what we hope will be many years to come.”

Routine maintenance of the tank has included re-edging the coated sheet edges, as well as adding exterior bolt caps. A total of less than $10,000 has been spent in maintenance over 38 years.

Mid Atlantic Storage Systems has provided all but one of the storage tanks for Snowshoe Mountain. In addition to the aforementioned tanks, a wastewater tank at Hawthorn Valley capable of storing 46,000 gallons as well as a potable water tank at Hawthorne Valley with a capacity of 25,000 gallons have been erected. The performance of these tanks, as well as the excellent service provided by Mid Atlantic Storage Systems, would make it easy to choose Aquastore products in the future.

Products like Aquastore storage tanks partnered with quality operators like the Cheat Mountain Water Company and Pocahontas County PSD allow public water and wastewater services to operate smoothly behind the scenes, and allow thousands of residents and visitors to enjoy the many attractions at Snowshoe Mountain every year.

Benefits of Glass-Fused-To-Steel:

  • Lowest maintenance requirements over tank life
  • Greater lifetime value versus welded or concrete tanks
  • Faster construction – Easy assembly without cranes or special equipment
  • Expandable to accommodate future requirements
  • Available in diameters from 11 feet (3.3 m) to 204 feet (62.2 m) and capacity from 20,000 gallons (75 cu m) to over 6 million gallons (22,700 cu m)
  • Specific tank designs, options and accessories to meet customer needs

Contact Information: