Jericho Reservoir

The concrete reservoir and adjoining valve chamber were designed to post-disaster seismic requirements. The reservoir was designed to be a watertight structure under the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads from the contents. The overall structure is about 84 m by 40 m in plan. The exterior walls are about 9 m tall, from grade level to the top of the parapet. The two cells of the reservoir have a total capacity of 20.6 ML. The reservoir roof slab is supported on concrete columns with drop panels. The base raft slab contains concrete thickenings at the column locations. The concrete mix was specified with a high fly ash content to reduce the heat of hydration and the risk of early age shrinkage cracking. Wall pour sizes, pour sequencing, construction joint detail, and control joints with crack inducers and sealants, were all carefully conceived to reduce the risk of cracking caused by restrained shrinkage and by seasonal thermal movement of the concrete structure. The valve chamber is a multi-level concrete structure that goes below grade.

The facility was designed to integrate into the surrounding community. Notable features of the design include:

• Sloped exterior concrete reservoir walls to reduce the visual impact of conventional rectangular tanks.
• Textured exterior concrete reservoir walls using elastomeric form liners, with varying roof parapet heights for visual interest.
• Glass guardrails for the future rooftop space.
• Precast vertical concrete “troughs” on the exterior reservoir walls to direct roof rainwater runoff onto the perimeter “raingarden” landscaping.
• A metal-clad water feature at one of the wall corners of the reservoir that directs roof rainwater run-off onto a concrete pond.
• An access stair at the facility exterior plaza to the future rooftop with an architectural metal screen.