Kingspan Water & Energy was commissioned to build 14 large tanks for rainwater harvesting at the Mazda Distribution Centre in Brisbane Airport, Australia.

Spread across 5.9 hectares, the Mazda Distribution Centre comprises of an office building, workshop, open air car preparation shed, automotive car wash and 1,800 covered car parking spaces. The centre was designed as a modern, efficient facility to cater for growing business requirements.

Water conservation requirements for the project specified rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing, irrigation and vehicle washdown applications. Rainwater is harvested from three very large catchment areas – the workshop, the office building and the vehicle washdown station. Up to 100 vehicles are washed each day with the vehicle washdown bay capturing, treating and reusing water over a number of cycles, supplemented with rainwater as required.

Specifications for the tanks included a small footprint area requiring a small diameter and tall design, and commercial size fittings for the storage of large water volumes. The head height was straightforward as roof heights were greater than three metres.

Kingspan Water & Energy built the 14 tanks to exact dimensions, as specified by the designer and engineer. The plumber, JC Plumbing specified fitting locations to suit onsite drainage, saving time and money as a result of an efficient fit. The tanks were also matched aesthetically, adding to the architectural integrity of the buildings.

The rainwater storage tanks were delivered and positioned without assistance from the plumber, thanks to the exact fit.

Kingspan Water & Energy built and supplied 14 AQUAPLATE round tanks with commercial grade fittings and in varying sizes and capacities.

These included 2 x 12,930L tanks for toilet flushing, 4 x 7,750L tanks for irrigation, and 8 x 7,750L tanks for vehicle washdown. Kingspan Water & Energy also cross-checked tank requirements based on hydraulic plans supplied by the plumber.

Jeff Campbell of JC Plumbing said that he was very pleased with the service and product received for the project, noting that every step from order to supply was flawless even though the tanks were of non-standard sizes.