Two-Room Chemical Feed Building with Secondary ContainmentCase Study
A Southern California public water district needed a durable, corrosion-resistant enclosure to protect chemical storage and feed equipment.
This district provides drinking water to about 1,000 miles of the Colorado desert.
It needed to be able to safely separate incompatible chemicals while providing secondary containment, ventilation, and temperature control for each room within the facility.
The region's primary drinking water source in the California Riverside County water district, comes from several wells that require treatment to reduce naturally occurring arsenic levels before the water can enter the potable water system.
The Challenge
The original Ion Exchange Treatment Plant (IXTP) deteriorated and was taken offline. This reduced water supply reliability.
To fix the issue, the water district initiated a project to replace and upgrade the old 1,000-gpm treatment system with a new 2,000-gpm absorption treatment facility.
The Solution
Shelter Works worked with Charles P. Crowley Company and the consulting engineer to specify and supply a custom fiberglass building engineered specifically for this chemical feed application.
The new building is a self-contained, turnkey chemical system that connects to on-site power and plumbing. This minimizes installation time and costs.
Key Features
Two rooms divided by an FRP-encapsulated partition wall
The Acid Room
- 11'x9'-5"
- 405-gallon double-wall containment sulfuric acid storage tank
- pH analyzer
- Sulfuric acid dosing skid with lead detection
The Caustic Room
- 18'-2"x9'-5"
- 750-gallon double-wall storage tank
- pH analyzer
- caustic (sodium hydroxide) dosing skid and lead detection
*This room also includes the water district's standard calcium hypochlorite packaged dosing system and chlorine residual analyzer.
Other Key Features
- 8-inch deep secondary containment basin
- FRP grated walking surface allowing operators to safely access equipment
- Custom cut openings in the grading to accommodate the chemical storage tanks
- Tank hold-down clips welded directly to the steel skid with fiberglass to protect them from chemical exposure
- Exterior walls and roof
- 2-1/2 inches of foam installation (~R-18) for temperatures ranging from below freezing to above 122' F
The Result
The new fiberglass chemical feed building plays a key role in the IXTP replacement project. It protects critical chemical feed equipment and supports safe, reliable treatment operations.
The corrosion-resistant construction, integrated containment, and environmental controls will make sure this facility sees long-term performance while supporting increased treatment capacity, improved system redundancy, and a dependable drinking water supply for the communities served by the agency.
Additional Features
- Emergency lighting systems
- Separate double-door entrances with plexiglass acrylic windows for each room
- Wood reinforcement throughout the walls supports equipment mounting and additional structural integrity
- Interior and exterior LED lighting and receptacles pre-wired to a common load center located
- Exterior-mounted disconnect in NEMA 4X enclosure for single-point incoming power
- Corrosion-resistant FRP gravity intake louvers and thermostatically controlled shutter-mount exhaust fans
- A dedicated 1-ton split-system air conditioner serving the acid room
- A dedicated 1-1/2-ton split-system air conditioner serving the caustic room
- Steel skid base construction for simplified transportation and installation
- Three process bulkheads in each room to accommodate infield penetrations for electrical conduit and piping for mechanical installation
Highlights of this Project
- Building Size: 10' x 30' x 10'
- Configuration: Two-room fiberglass building with independent containment systems
- Tank Capacity: 405-gallon sulfuric acid tank and 750-gallon caustic soda tank
- Insulation: 2-1/2" foam insulation (~R-18)
- Containment: 8" deep containment basins with walkable FRP grating over 8-inch-deep containment basins
- Environmental Controls: Dedicated HVAC, corrosion-resistant exhaust fans, and gravity intake ventilation
- Structural Features: Steel skid-base, FRP-encapsulated partition wall, wall reinforcement throughout