The existing 100,000 gallon tank serves only the hospital grounds.
(image courtesy of Cunningham/Quill®)
Many areas east of the Anacostia River and south of W Street currently experience periods of low water pressure and have aging water system infrastructure. DC Water has developed a comprehensive program totaling more than $85 million in water projects to create a new pressure zone for this area. These improvements will increase water pressure, provide additional needed water storage, boost fire protection, maintain water quality and provide for current and future development.
The final link in this ambitious program is a two-million-gallon elevated storage tower in the southern portion of the area that will maintain higher and more optimal pressures in the new service area. The tower also enables continuous water supply during peak demand periods, heightened fire protection, and emergency reserves in the event of electrical outages or mechanical failure at the pumping station. The new storage facility also improves the ability to use the existing Ft. Stanton Reservoir as a water storage source and will support reasonable future development.
Engineers decided on elevated storage because of its reliance on gravity to maintain pressures. This means minimal mechanical working parts, which in turn minimizes mechanical breakdowns, ensures water supply during power failures, reduces energy consumption, and lessens maintenance issues. The storage tower is proposed for the St. Elizabeths East Campus where it would replace the existing 100,000-gallon tank that today serves only the hospital grounds.
Download the complete project Fact Sheet (PDF 719 kb)
Meeting Schedule
Meetings for the Consulting Parties involved with the St. Elizabeths Section 106 Historical Review process are currently under way. The first Consulting Party Meeting was held on July 21, 2009, the second on September 14, 2009, and the third on October 5, 2009 (repeated on October 9). A fourth Consulting Party Meeting was held on January 13, 2010. Consulting Party Meetings scheduled.
Contacts
For additional information please contact St.ElizabethsTower@dcwater.com.
Project Benefits
As part of the overall East of the Anacostia Initiative, will:
- Maintain higher and more optimal pressures in the new service area
- Enable continuous water supply during peak demand periods
- Heighten fire protection
- Provide emergency reserves in the event of electrical outages or mechanical failure at the pumping station
- Improve the ability to use the existing Ft. Stanton Reservoir as a water storage source
- Support reasonable future development
- Improve the overall water quality and delivery of tap water in the area east of the Anacostia River