Forensic Investigation Concerning Inspection and Diagnosis of Condition of Water Storage Systems in the Gulf

Abstract

Sandberg were asked to visit and comment on a sizeable project in the Gulf involving water storage towers, ground reservoirs and ancillary buildings in contemplation of legal proceedings. The structures had been built by a contractor but some problems had occurred in construction due to the high temperatures and issues with the concrete placement. The main issue that needed to be resolved was whether the problems that occurred were within acceptable limits for that type of construction and what repair recommendations were appropriate. The Client for the project had rejected the structures and was aiming for demolition and reconstruction which was a draconian step, given the level of problems – all of which were easily repairable. A significant amount of misdiagnosis had occurred with dark flecks on the surface of reservoirs being attributed to corrosion of reinforcement, for example, when in fact they were due to mould growth on the surface of the concrete and were literally surface deep only. There were also significant questions to be answered as to what constituted an acceptable level of leakage from water storage towers. An issue was also present with very severe corrosion to some reinforcing bars close to ground level in several ground reservoirs, despite the reinforcement being epoxy coated. It was considered highly likely that this damage was in fact due to stray current corrosion from current leakage from the cathodically protected water pipelines that delivered water to the facilities in question.This paper will discuss the inspection and diagnosis of the problems and the feasibility and need for appropriate repairs.