CCL CASE STUDY: HELPING BUILD THE WORLD’S LARGEST MEGA-RESERVOIRS
CCL has successfully designed, supplied and supervised the installation of precast post-tensioned beams for the world's largest mega-reservoirs.
Due to the continuous population growth in Qatar, there is an increasing demand for water. As a consequence, the Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation has undertaken, and partially completed, an ambitious project to construct five connected mega reservoirs. Once complete, the mega reservoirs, each made up of several smaller reservoirs, will have a combined total storage capacity of 3,800 million gallons of water. Unsurprisingly, this super-sized water storage facility will be the largest of its kind on the planet.
The objective of the Water Security Mega Reservoirs Project is to increase Qatar's water storage capacity significantly, so that if there was a problem with the water supply (desalinated seawater, drawn from the Arabian Gulf), Qatar could continue to operate, unaffected, for seven days under normal circumstances and for several months in case of emergency. Currently, the nation has a two-day emergency water supply at best, and these massive water reserves, now well underway, are seen as a vital addition to the country's infrastructure. The President of Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation, Essa bin Hilal Al-Kuwari states:
'Water security is very important because Qatar is geographically located in a desert where rainfall is low and groundwater stock is relatively low.'
The first phase of the project, which will be completed by mid-2018, will add a further 1,400 million gallons of extra water storage capacity to Qatar's existing water storage infrastructure, with 15 new tanks that each have a capacity of just under 100 million gallons per tank.
The second stage of the project, due for completion by 2025, will provide a further 2,300 million gallons of water storage, achieving an ultimate total storage capacity of around 3,800 million gallons of water. This is a mind-blowing amount of water to contain, and the forces and tolerances involved are equally as staggering. Enter CCL...
CCL was engaged to design, supply and supervise installation of precast post-tensioned beams in two of the five mega reservoirs.
The original plans specified precast prestressed concrete beams which would then be transported to the site. However, after consultation, it was ascertained that this approach presented too many financial and logistical barriers. As a solution, the CCL team proposed pouring and stressing the precast beams on site. This not only kept the costs much lower, but made the supply and installation of the 24 beams, each measuring 800/500mm wide x 2000mm deep, and spanning over 28 metres, much easier for all parties.
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