Shown (from left) are: Dennis Kelleher, P.E., president of H2M Water; Jim Passariello, assistant superintendent, Carle Place Water District; Peter Meade, secretary, Carle Place Water District; Lawrence Zaino, Jr., Treasurer, Carle Place Water District; Timothy Stellato, chairman, Carle Place Water District; Timothy Doyle, superintendent, Carle Place Water District; and Anthony M. Trombino, Senior Project Engineer – Water Resources, H2M architects + engineers.

Carle Place, NY H2M architects + engineers was awarded a Silver Award for the rehabilitation of the Mineola Ave. Elevated Storage Tank from the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC) on March 19^th at the 49^th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

The Engineering Excellence Awards are presented to projects that encompassed both the public and private sectors and each year more than 60 member firms submit projects to be judged on a rigorous set of criteria, including complexity, innovation and value to society.  These projects are judged by a panel of industry experts, which includes military and government officials, ACEC National and International leadership, educators from colleges’ and universities’ engineering departments, and leadership from other organizations dedicated to the built environment.  Awards are distributed based on the average scores received by these judges, and are assigned one of four levels (in ascending order): Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. 

“The ACEC Silver Award recognizes the challenges that were overcome by the design team led by Tony Trombino in undertaking an elevated tank rehabilitation project located on a very small site in a densely populated neighborhood in Carle Place.  Congratulations to the entire team,” said Gary Loesch, COO, executive  vice president of H2M architects + engineers.

“The reason this project was a real success was the true team effort from the start by all involved parties including the Carle Place Water District, the LIRR, H2M and Alpine Painting and Sandblasting, Inc., the painting contractor,” said Dennis Kelleher, P.E., president of H2M Water.

“The location of the tank makes it one of the most difficult water storage tanks on Long Island to repaint,” said Tony Trombino, senior project engineer – Water Resources, H2M architects + engineers.

The Carle Place Water District maintains pressure throughout the distribution system by using a 500,000 gallon elevated water storage tank.  The tank is located on a site that is approximately 10,000 s/f, with cellular communication equipment shelters occupying much of the perimeter.  On the same site, in a densely populated, multi-use neighborhood, is the district’s administration building.  Businesses border the site to the east and west, with residential homes located across the street to the north and the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Port Jefferson Branch just 50 ft. from the tank to the south.

With recent inspections of the steel, toro ellipsoidal, multi-leg tank concluding that its existing coating system had reached the end of their useful lives, the district authorized H2M to perform a present condition evaluation (PCE) inspection and report of the tank.  Based on the PCE’s findings, detailed plans and specifications were generated. 

The technical value of the project lies in the coordination among the owner, contractor, neighbor, cellular carriers, and the Long Island Rail Road.  The project’s complexity in the pre-planning, coordination and execution associated with a project of this magnitude on a tight site, and its proximity to the LIRR train tracks.  On top of changing their daily operations to accommodate the work, the District also leased the neighboring property owner’s rear parking lot for use by the contractor.  Ultimately, this additional space kept construction costs under the $2.18 million budget, and totaled just under $1.95 million upon completion.