Fayetteville, Tennessee is what every small town aspires to be. It has a rich history, tons of scenic beauty and a vibrant business district. Every year this county seat of 7,000 in south central Tennessee hosts the Lincoln County Fair, a bluegrass festival and a Dickens Christmas festival.
In a town that distinguishes itself from the pack, it’s no wonder the city’s utility has that same commitment to excellence. On its website, Fayetteville Public Utilities proudly promises to “take the extra step to exceed customer expectations.”
Fayetteville Public Utilities has 5,000 residential and commercial customers who probably don’t think about the safety, availability and freshness of their water, and that’s the way it should be. They expect and get a clean, safe and superior product each and every time they turn the tap.
“Our engineers and technicians continually explore new technologies to improve service reliability,” says Britt Dye, CEO and General Manager of Fayetteville Public Utilities.
When Fayetteville Public Utilities was looking to triple the capacity of its 100,000-gallon tank and improve quality and reliability, it chose the Aquastore® glass-fused-to-steel tank with an OptiDome® aluminum dome from CST.
Aquastore is the premium storage choice in the municipal and industrial water, wastewater and industrial liquid markets. An Aquastore tank is made of integrated glass and steel—fused at 1500 degrees—and is superior to concrete or welded tanks. It never needs to be painted and requires minimal maintenance. Aquastore and OptiDome are the perfect combination for today’s municipal water storage.
“What sold them was a visit to CST’s fabrication facility in DeKalb, Illinois,” says Dustin Dowdy, Director of Sales, Southeastern Tank, Inc. “We took Fayetteville Public Utilities and the engineer to see what goes in to the Aquastore tank, and they were convinced.”
In less than three months, crews replaced the old welded steel storage tank with a 320,000-gallon Model 4233 Aquastore tank with an OptiDome aluminum roof, including all site work and yard piping.
An Aquastore tank is built from the top down using jacks, making construction easier and less intrusive. And that’s a good thing because there was little room to operate.
“The site is 30 feet from the road at the crest of a hill, and on the backside we had about six feet between a retaining wall and the tank,” says Shelly Farmer, Director of Operations, Southeastern Tank, Inc. “CST’s are the only tanks that can be built in that small of an area.”
Farmer adds: “We like to say we can build a tank on a postage stamp!”
Fayetteville is the first Southeastern customer to install an OptiDome. The flush batten construction gives it a smooth, seamless appearance—no unsightly beams, girders or columns. With the ability to cover spans of 700 feet or more, the OptiDome has a wide range of applications. Performance is exceptional; it facilitates increased water shedding and eliminates ponding, even on a low profile design, while providing a water-tight cover solution. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but the OptiDome performs reliably under the most stringent environmental conditions, including heavy snow loads and high wind speeds.
“The new OptiDome is a customer-focused design, which delivers a reliable, long lasting, innovative smart cover product in terms of value, performance and reliability,” says John Delaney, Vice President of CST Covers Industries, Inc.
“The OptiDome is a source of pride for us,” says Dye. “It’s designed for easy access so we can perform maintenance, plus it’s an attractive landmark that our customers are talking about because they see it every day from the road.”
When it comes to water storage, CST’s all-aluminum dome and Aquastore’s glass-fused-to-steel tank far outperform a concrete or welded steel, tank and roof.
“Unlike other tanks, the Aquastore is a continuous improvement design,” says Dowdy. “The fact that it will always be evolving to meet changing requirements really captured their imagination.”
Dowdy continues: “After having a welded tank for many years, they’ve seen the advantages of the Aquastore and tell us it’s a preferred option to use going forward.”
Fayetteville’s Dye likes the fact that his storage tank is safer, newer and technically superior. Plus it yields better drinking water.
“We had some rust problems with the old tank, and this is like night and day in comparison,” says Dye. “CST and Southeastern Tank are great to work with; they put it up right and do it right.”
Delivering a next-generation storage solution to a discriminating public utility customer is truly a team effort. Southeastern Tank is the premier provider for liquid storage solutions in the Southeastern United States and an authorized distributor for CST.
“I’ve personally worked with CST for the past 25 years,” says Southeastern’s Farmer. “They’re always a pleasure to work with, the ideal partner.”
Benefits of CST’s Aluminum Covers:
Corrosion Resistance: Aluminum is inherently corrosion resistant compared to other materials. It will last the lifetime of the structure and will not need to be painted or repainted for protection from the elements.
Low Lifetime Maintenance Cost: With no need to maintain a protective finish to prevent corrosion over time, there are little-to-no maintenance costs associated with an aluminum dome.
Clear-Span Capability: Aluminum’s lightweight characteristics allow for larger clear-span cover capability than structures utilizing steel, concrete and other materials.
Fast & Low-Cost Construction: Creative design and lightweight components provide for installation in 1/3 the time it takes to install other cover systems. Less time, labor and equipment needs combine for a low total cost of installation.
Design Flexibility: Aluminum’s excellent strength-to-weight ratios and creative component designs yield covers and structures that cannot be achieved with other materials.
Aluminum is a “Green Material”: Not only are aluminum cover systems recyclable after their service life, but more than 50% of the aluminum used in the cover systems is made from recycled aluminum.
