Precast Solutions Weekly

Precast Solutions Weekly features one construction project or news item each week that is associated with the precast concrete industry. These features range from rural highway work to the legislative changes in our nation's capital that continue to shape the face of the industry. Visit www.precast.org weekly for the latest from Precast Solutions Weekly.

For the week of March 25 - 31, 2007

A Couple Hundred Reasons to Celebrate

Rex Vault Co. of Newton, Ill., has 225 big reasons, not including the ushering in of a New Year, to celebrate Dec. 31. The final day of 2007 will mark the end of a project that the precast manufacturer began in mid-March with the pouring of its first septic tank for a nontraditional Sanborn, Ind., wastewater treatment facility.

By the end of August, more than 225 precast concrete septic tanks will have been manufactured and delivered to as many private residences in Sanborn, Ind., to form a giant network of septic tanks. Each of the tanks uses anaerobic bacterial action, breaking down solids to liquid form then forcing the liquid through underground pipes to a larger collection tank. The collection tanks will be located under the intersections or alleys connecting the neighborhoods. Spurring off from each of these collection tanks are large-diameter pumps, collecting effluent then forcing it through a system of pump lines to its final home – the treatment facility – on the edge of town.

A typical sewer system with large-diameter pipe wouldn’t have worked in Sanborn. The geography of southwestern Indiana doesn’t lend itself to such infrastructure, says Mark Bolander with Rex Vault Co. “In a town like Sanborn, large-diameter sewer lines would have had to be placed far below grade,” Bolander says.

Rex Vault Co. will vacuum test every septic tank that leaves its yard. Once on site, the tanks face hydraulic water tests, a final insurance strategy for any possible leaks. Thorough testing ensures watertightness and structural integrity of the precast concrete products.

Submit project proposals to Michael Cook for future Weekly postings.