Fort Belvoir plans to replace historic Water Tank 188, an iconic fixture in the Belvoir skyline, in either late 2014 or early 2015.
Water Storage Tank (WST) 188, located on 16th Street and visible from much of South Post, was one of the first permanent structures built on what is now known as Fort Belvoir. When WST was constructed in 1918, Fort Belvoir was known as Camp A. A. Humphreys. The camp was established as an Army installation near the onset of World War I to serve as a training ground for the Army's Engineer School. Originally WST 188 stored water pumped from Accotink Creek via the Humphrey's filtration plant. The tank now stores water supplied by Fairfax Water. The old filtration plant was retired in 1970 and now serves as the Eleanor Kennedy Homeless Shelter. The Shelter is located at the intersection of Pohick Road and U.S. Route 1.
Due to its central role in providing water to the early facilities at Fort Belvoir, the installation appears to have developed around the historic tank, making it one of the most visible resources in Fort Belvoir's Historic District. The tank is one of the few tanks of its age in the region that is still in operation, because most others have been demolished, according to Christopher Daniel, Fort Belvoir architectural historian and a URS Corporation contractor.
WST 188 is well past the typical operational age for a water tank of 40 to 50 years. The typical practice is to tear down and replace WSTs that have exceeded their life span, according to Daniel.
While the tank is still functional, according to Daniel "installation water needs have far exceeded the tank's storage capacity." Thus, Fort Belvoir elected to demolish WST 188 and replace it with a new larger water tank.
The installation privatized its water operations to American Water in 2010, according to Daniel. Under the recent privatization, American Water inherited Fort Belvoir's existing water and wastewater infrastructure, including water tanks, service lines, pump stations and the sewage system, Daniel said. American Water is responsible for maintaining and operating all of those resources.
When the company assessed Fort Belvoir's water infrastructure, they found deficiencies within the existing system, one of which concluded the existing water tanks were not providing an optimum level of capacity. All four existing water tanks on main post need to be replaced including WST 188.
The other three tanks that will be demolished and replaced are WST 591, behind 23rd street, and WSTs 2428 and 2429 near the commissary, Daniel said. None of these tanks are considered historic and the first of these will be torn down in mid-2014. WST 188 will be the last tank torn down because of all of the regulatory requirements involved in demolishing a historic resource. The new tanks replacing WST 188 and 591 will be constructed prior to demolition directly adjacent to the existing tanks. WSTs 2428 and 2429 will be replaced with a single, elevated tank.
The privatization of the installation's water system is part of a larger U.S. Army trend that includes the turning over of operations for utilities, lodging, and housing to private entities, Daniel said. Since the privatization, water system improvements have been taking place across Fort Belvoir.
Currently, WST 188 can only provide 300,000 gallons of capacity and the installation needs require that the tank provide one million gallons of water to meet operational needs. Over the years the installation has grown significantly in terms of population and scope. New buildings have been built and those facilities place new water demands on the installation. Additionally, new buildings require sprinkler systems and older buildings are being upgrade to include sprinkler systems.
"Those systems depend on the water pressure and the water from these tanks," Daniel said. Historic tank 188 just wasn't going to be able to meet those requirements as Fort Belvoir continues to grow. Ideally, Fort Belvoir's water needs require three million gallons of capacity on main post and the current tanks in operation do not provide that level.
During the analysis, installation officials discussed the importance of being able to seamlessly mitigate the outbreak of a fire on both sides of the installation, Kelly Lease, Directorate of Public Works Environmental and Natural Resources Division, acting compliance branch chief.
The current situation is costing Fort Belvoir a lot of money because back-up generators are being installed to support the installation of sprinkler systems for many of the older buildings on post, according to Daniel. Sprinkler systems did not exist or fire code did not require them when many of the older buildings on post were constructed, but new safety codes and building requirements necessitate their installation when major renovations occur.
Demolition was not an easy decision to make, Daniel said. WST 188 is one of the tallest structures on post and is integral to Fort Belvoir's skyline. It was determined eligible for National Register of Historic Places, the federal government's official record of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed historically significant. Tank 188 was determined significant due to its role in the early development of Fort Belvoir.
Furthermore, Fort Belvoir must follow National Historic Preservation Act guidelines when considering the destruction of a historic structure because it is a federal agency. The undertaking must be reviewed and evaluated and the installation must consult with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources before it takes place, Daniel said.
The cultural resource program analyzed possible options for what to do with WST 188 and presented those to installation leadership, he said. Officials considered leaving the structure in place but disconnecting it from the water system, in order to preserve the skyline and give the average citizen the impression that the tank was still there and functioning, Daniel said. Under that scenario, its replacement tank would be located elsewhere on the installation.
However, Fort Belvoir officials decided that it would cost taxpayers too much money. They also tried to come up with a scenario for reusing the structure in a different capacity, but could not settle on a feasible solution.
In the end, Fort Belvoir decided, through consultation with VDHR, to replace WST 188 with a water tank that looks similar to the original tank and to publicly celebrate the history of the structure. The plan for moving forward was outlined in a Memorandum of Agreement between Fort Belvoir and VDHR.
As part of the agreement, the new tank will be built using the same multi-column style and will also be painted the same color as WST 188, Lease said. However, the replacement tank will be larger than the original tank. A historic marker will be placed at the site to acknowledge the history of WST 188 and its association with the early development of Fort Belvoir.
To further mitigate the tank demolition, Fort Belvoir will conduct a Historic American Engineering Record report for WST 188. HAER is a program managed by the National Park Service, which documents historic places in the United States. The final HAER report will consist of measured drawings, photographs, and written reports concerning WST 188. Copies of the report will be provided to the state and also archived with the Library of Congress.
Finally, a run of 100 copies of an interpretive poster discussing the history of WST 188 and featuring a historic panoramic photo taken from the top will be produced for public interpretation. Most of those posters will be distributed to local schools, libraries and historical societies. All of these projects are intended to help mitigate the loss of the historic structure from Fort Belvoir's skyline.
"The biggest thing that my program area aims to do beyond ensuring the Garrison meets its mission requirements is raise awareness and help people realize that Fort Belvoir has a huge amount of historic resources," Daniel said. "Many of them, we pass by on a daily basis."
For more information on the demolition of WST 188, contact Daniel by email at christopher.a.daniel11.ctr@mail.mil.
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