Church Hill Water Storage Tank

The Church Hill 5 million gallon Water Storage Tank and Church Hill Pumping Station provide finished water to Henrico County and to City of Richmond’s Zone 3 service area. The original tank was constructed in 1954 and after several inspections was deemed in need of replacement. 

Greeley and Hansen’s services included preliminary design, final design, and construction management services. The project schedule included a construction sequence to maintain the existing tank until the new tank was constructed, tested, disinfected, and operational. This project required the approval of several permitting agencies including Commission of Architectural Review (CAR), Urban Design Commission, Zoning Special Exception due to the height of the tank, and Virginia Department of Health. The Church Hill Tank is located in a Historic District which required additional CAR approval. The approval process took almost one year and multiple meetings with various agencies before the project was approved.  

Greeley and Hansen also designed an upgrade to the pumping station capacity to 32 MGD in the short term with eventual expansion to 36 MGD. Replacement of suction and discharge piping was included. The existing station needed to remain operational during the rehabilitation work. Pump station improvements required the removal and replacement of the three existing 5 MGD pumps with two new 12 MGD units, for a total capacity of 32 MGD. Both new pumps are driven by 350 hp 480-volt adjustable frequency drive units. New equipment includes flow meters, electrical equipment, PLC-based pump controls, and upgraded standby generator equipment for the larger pumps. 

Project Highlights 

• Replacement of original water storage tank 
• Proactive public outreach to inform the public in proximity to the tank 
• Management of permitting in a historic district 
• Phased pumping station improvements to maintain operations during rehabilitation