Fire protection tank for Goodwin House expansion

Goodwin House retirement community in Alexandria, Virginia, realized they needed to supplement their water supply when they recently expanded their facility. Low pressure in the municipal water supply meant they couldn’t achieve the volume they needed fast enough for the property’s sprinkler system. They evaluated how best to add a supplemental water supply.

Why they chose a Xerxes tank

One option was to install several tanks to achieve the required volume for the sprinkler system. Our distributor Tanks Direct gave the customer another option. They showed them how one large Xerxes tank could meet the requirement.

The solution for Goodwin House came in the form of a single 48,000-gallon/182,000-liter water tank connected to a booster pump to pull water from the tank.

The fiberglass advantage

In choosing our tank, they received all the core benefits of our fiberglass tank: corrosion resistance, structural strength and water tightness. Another significant benefit was the light weight of our fiberglass tank as access to the installation site was complicated.

The tank had to be offloaded at the opposite end of the large campus from where the tank was to be installed. It also had to be moved around several buildings, including a 15-story tower. It then had to be placed between that high-rise and a nine-story building. In other words, after a certain point, the tank had to be “walked” to the excavation hole. When it came time to getting around a very tight corner at the site, they moved the tank around on dollies.

“It was amazing to watch!” says Rob Mourlas of Tanks Direct.

The single, lightweight tank made the installation quick and easy–despite the challenges. It wasn’t an option to close the residential facility while installing the tank. People were coming and going throughout the whole process, which took about six hours total.

Application highlights

• – One 48,000-gallon/182,000-liter fiberglass fire-protection water tank
• – Emergency water supply for sprinkler system in retirement community expansion
• – Lightweight fiberglass tank made complicated installation quick and easy
• – Single large-capacity tank preferable to several-tank installation