Minimizing the Life Cycle Cost of Water Tank Maintenance through a Full Service Asset Management Program

Full service, GASB 34 compliant asset management maintenance programs for potable water storage tanks offer tank owners a viable option to the traditional tank maintenance procurement methods.  Under the preventative tank maintenance procurement concept the tank owner contracts directly with a qualified tank maintenance contractor to evaluate, plan and provide all maintenance and repair needed for their water storage facilities on an ongoing basis.  AWWA M42 “Steel Water Storage Tanks” offers support for this approach stating: “A good, comprehensive preventive maintenance program can extend the life of an existing tank indefinitely: “Many thousands of dollars can be saved and complaints from citizens can be eliminated if a planned approach to tank maintenance is adopted”, and “Small outlays for maintenance can substantially delay or eliminate the need to replace a utilities large capital investment in tanks.”

This presentation will discuss the different types of preventative maintenance programs available to tank owners and how they differ from the traditional means of tank maintenance procurement.  Six benefits of full service preventive tank maintenance programs will be discussed: single source responsibility, balanced funding, evaluation and planning, regulatory & GASB 34 compliance, annual inspection and maintenance, and emergency repair service.  These preventive maintenance programs often result in lower life-cycle maintenance costs than the traditional approach to tank maintenance.  Tank maintenance programs can meet the requirements of GASB 34 for asset management programs under the modified approach to infrastructure asset reporting, assuring the tank owner the tank value will never drop below the declared value.