Completing the first stage in a key upgrade of the water supply infrastructure for the Ligonier Valley communities in western Pennsylvania, the new concrete water storage tank in Darlington was commissioned in September 2022. The project’s final stage also includes water pressure booster stations, due to go online by Spring 2023.
Located 51 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, PA, the borough of Ligonier is surrounded by Ligonier Township, which is a separate municipality. Both Borough and Township are home to over 8,000 inhabitants and make up the Ligonier Valley region, which also includes the villages of Waterford, Darlington, Wilpen, and Laughlintown.
Ligonier was first settled in the 1760s and today, the borough is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Fort Ligonier site and the Ligonier Historic District, which encompasses the Diamond and the oldest parts of the town center. The borough is also known for nearby Idlewild Park, one of the oldest amusement parks in the country, and nearby Seven Springs Mountain Resort.
“Faced with chronic water shortages and insufficient water pressure for homes in the higher elevations of the Ligonier Valley and increased demand during the summer tourist season, the Ligonier Township Municipal Authority mandated the Eads Group, an engineering firm specialized in water services, to come up with a solution,” explains Christopher Chen, Director of The Penetron Group.
The resulting $5.7 million project included four new booster stations to increase water pressure from a usual 15 psi to 60 psi. In addition, a new 250,000-gallon water storage tank in Darlington was added to the municipal water storage infrastructure. A concrete waterproofing solution was specified by the project engineers for both the concrete water storage tank and the pre-cast booster stations.
Well-maintained concrete water tanks and concrete elements constantly exposed to water at high hydrostatic pressure can last 30 or 40 years. However, concrete is naturally prone to developing hairline cracks – and repairs to untreated (i.e., not waterproofed) concrete need to utilize repair materials that do not affect the quality of the drinking water that passes through.
“After consulting with the ready-mix supplier and the local Penetron representative, the engineers specified PENETRON ADMIX SB as the concrete waterproofing solution for both the Darlington water storage tank and the booster stations,” adds Christopher Chen.
Ligonier Construction, the general contractor, began work in Summer 2022, with the Darlington water storage tank commissioned by September 2022. The last of the four booster stations will be installed and online by May 2023. Ligonier Stone & Lime, the project’s ready-mix concrete supplier, provided the PENETRON ADMIX-treated concrete for the water storage tank. The pre-cast concrete elements were also treated with Penetron’s crystalline waterproofing admixture.
When added to concrete during batching, the active ingredients in PENETRON ADMIX react with the byproducts of cement hydration in the presence of moisture. These reactions extend hydration and form additional calcium silicate hydrate molecules along with insoluble crystals throughout the concrete matrix. These insoluble formations precipitate within the natural pores and capillaries of the concrete mix to permanently seal hairline cracks as they develop over the lifetime of the concrete – dramatically reducing the permeability of the concrete.
“Thanks to Penetron crystalline technology, the water supply infrastructure for the Ligonier Valley will be markedly more durable – with decreased maintenance requirements,” notes Christopher Chen.
