WATER STORGE
PRECAST CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY TO FAST-TRACK WATER SERVICE DELIVERY
Seven precast concrete reservoirs in the City of Ekurhuleni (ranging in size between ranging in sizes from 20 Mℓ to 30 Mℓ) are in various stages of completion, and form part of the municipality’s water augmentation strategy.
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y harnessing prestressed, post-tensioned precastconcrete technology, these reservoirs are completed in record time. A 25 Mℓ reservoir can be constructed in only seven months. This is about half the time that it would take to build a similar-sized reservoir using cast-in-place methods. Significant construction time savings are achieved by enabling the various trades to work simultaneously. The different prefabricated concrete elements that make up the reservoir are manufactured while earthworks and site terracing are underway. They are then integrated on-site once the in-situ works have been completed. This includes the footings for the columns that
support the centre portion of the roof structure – also referred to as the ‘core’. Once it has been constructed, work on the inner portion of the in-situ concrete slab and ring foundation that supports the prefabricated wall panels can start. Thereafter, the wall panels are integrated on-site and the wall post-tensioned via precast concrete buttresses and placed along the perimeter of the reservoir. By this stage of the construction programme, the reservoir is close to practical completion, with only a few outstanding items remaining. Corestruc The municipality’s Water and Sanitation Department has been refining and
improving this innovative method of constructing reservoirs since it first deployed the system in 2020. On the first project, Corestruc – a leading precast-concrete specialist – worked alongside principal contractor Selby Construction. Tango’s Consultants was the project engineer. The three companies are again working together on the newest 25 Mℓ reservoir. “Having worked on a previous project with Selby Construction and many more with Tango’s Consulting for the City of Ekurhuleni, the team dynamics between Corestruc, Selby Construction, and Tango’s Consultants are again working together on the newest 25 Mℓ reservoir that is being built in the City of Ekurhuleni
