Types of Water Tank Constructions
A water tank usually is a cylindrical container mainly used to store incoming water. The water stored in tanks may be rain water, or underground pumped rainwater tank to help during water shortage instances. The water stored performs variety of functions such as we will discuss later like, in irrigation, drinking in homes, agricultural purposes, and in fire suppression.
There are several types of rainwater tanks in different prices, but most importantly when constructing a water tank one need to pay attention to its parameters such as its design, its linings, and construction materials. When considering the general parameters of the water tank one need to ensure that the material used, and its lining will not affect the general pH of the water and its purity. Most popular materials used in water tanks are plastics, stone, wood, concrete, and steel. Water tanks are mostly used in developing countries to help store water especially in arid areas and in drought seasons.
Water tanks have been in existence since time immemorial, in which it was essential to store water during drought seasons and during war times when defenders needed to brave through a siege. There are different types of water tanks used to store water around the world, they include:
Chemical tank
The contact chemical tank was initially proposed by NSF and FDA which uses polyethylene material to construct the tank. The material used in the tank allows for maximum contact of chemical treatment used with the available water. This is essential to help in maintaining the purity of water.
Ground Water Tank
The ground water tank usually receives water from the earth surface water, or a drilled well. The materials used to construct a ground water tank include steel with lined carbon. The materials are essential to help in storing large amount of water that will be used in demand period.
Elevated Tanks
The elevated water tank is also known as the water tower, this tower is meant to create pressure in the ground level at a pressure of 1kPa/10.2 cm. The elevated height is essential to prevent contamination and is a requirement of most industrial and domestic elevated water tank use. Other types of elevated tanks are cylindrical dome tanks, which may hold up to millions of gallons and the horizontal tank that is mainly used in transportation. The cylindrical horizontal tank has a low profile which creates a centre of gravity to maintain the equilibrium during transportation.
Uses of Water Tanks
Drinking Water
Water tanks can be used to help store water that can be used for drinking. This is mostly used among people who cannot easily access bottled or tap water to drink. Hence tank water when properly stored and treated can be used as an alternate source of drinking water.
Irrigation/ Watering Garden
Stored water in a tank can be essential as an alternative source of water to be used in irrigation and gardening. When one has small garden growing fruits, and vegetables, tank water can be used to irrigate the garden daily to keep it flourishing. It’s also important to note the amount of stored water and its availability, will determine the amount of water to be used in irrigation.
Emergency water for home purposes
Water stored in tanks can be used for emergency home use purposes such as washing clothes and flushing the toilet in case there’s shortage of water. Flushing the toilet is essential to keep away bacteria and to keep the toilet clean, therefore tank water can be of necessity in keeping the toilet clean, can be used in bathing, and cleaning utensils. In order for all these home chores to be run one need to have a sizeable tank to hold water for use. Moreover, in case of any fire outbreak having water stored can help suppress fire in addition to fire extinguishers.
Tank water is crucial for most home activities to run without any glitch. Acquiring tank is essential in any home for use in any of the above scenarios or more.
