Cayce, SC (Paul Kirby) - The City of Cayce’s newest water tank is currently in the running for a national award. In fact, right now it’s leading the race for the Tnemec Tank of the Year.
According to their website, for nearly a century, Tnemec Company, Inc. has been a leading manufacturer of coatings and coating systems for exterior and interior environments. They provide the special coatings for many of the country’s water tanks and have seen thousands of these throughout their history. Since 2006, Tnemec has named a Tank of the Year from hundreds of nominated tanks. Tank of the Year winners are true testaments to the creative and innovative uses of Tnemec coatings. Water tanks of all structural varieties across the nation have been named Tank of the Year. For the past decade, Tnemec's Tank of the Year contest has found one winner from the field that rose above the competition.
Cayce’s newest tank has changed the shape of the city’s skyline. Located on Alex Street between L and N Avenues, you can clearly see it as you travel up Airport Boulevard toward Columbia. It rises above the trees and buildings as you top the hill at Glenn Street; it really is spectacular in the distance! The new tank is part of a much bigger upgrade of the Cayce water system that has been underway for some time.
The tank was designed by American Engineering Consultants, Inc. They are a local company whose office is located on 12th Street in Cayce. Their president is Bill Bingham, a name that is well-known in the area. Not only is he the leader of American, he and his family have also been involved in civic service in the area for years. American Engineering Consultants, Inc. has designed many tanks and other water and waste water infrastructures for municipalities all over, but because of their long-standing relationship with the City of Cayce, the city entrusted them with the graphics design incorporating their recently rebranded logo as well as the lighting for the tank. It really has to be the best advertisement of Cayce’s new logo, “Time For Life.”
The new tank holds 1 million gallons of water and is 144’ feet tall. The circular steel structure was assembled around the concrete center support near ground level where it was mostly painted. Then, it was hoisted into place using cables. It is estimated that the lift of the shell was about 43-45 tons; that is between 86,000 and 90,000 pounds! Once the outside ring was in place, they had to construct the top of the tank in the air and finalize the painting up there too! The total tank has taken approximately 18 months to complete.
Let’s not forget how important a part Tnemec played in this beautiful structure. The tank uses their fluoropolymer coating system called Hydroflon. This coating is much glossier with a longer fade resistance and is less susceptible to chalking than previously used polyurethane tank coatings. The Hydroflon could last 20 years, but Bingham says they expect that the tank may need to be touched up after about 15 years to retain its brilliance. Since the tank pedestal is constructed of concrete, the only part of the tank that is painted is the top bowl. This type of tank was selected because of its aesthetics and the lower maintenance cost for painting the tank over the years that it will be in service.
The national winner of Tnemec ‘s Tank of The Year will be announced in the coming months and that still gives all of us the opportunity to vote. To do that, simply click on http://tankoftheyear.tnemec.com/, go to VOTE tab, and caste your vote by clicking on Cayce’s tank. You better cast your vote quickly, voting closes Friday, October 19th.
The photos with this story were taken from a drone flying around the new water tank. You can click PLAY here to see a time-lapse Youtube video of the Cayce tank’s top portion being lifted into place.
