On Aug. 30 Dome Technology’s crew inflated the airform for the Iona water tank, an event publicized by local news. The following article was published in the Post Register, the local newspaper.
Iona inflates new water tank: Tank designed by Dome Technology will improve storage, water pressure
By Nathan Brown for the Post Register
Iona’s new water was inflated Friday morning.
The 1 million gallon tank on East 49th North, on which contractor Dome Technology broke ground June 5, consists of a dome-shaped airform that is inflated. Concrete is then sprayed on the inside, and the airform stays intact permanently as a protective membrane. Since concrete is sprayed in place, there are no joints on the tank’s wall or roof.
“We can actually store water up into the dome roof,” said Dome Project Manager Daren Wheeler. “We have that advantage over other precast concrete tanks.”
Wheeler also said the tank’s height means you can store more water in less space than other designs.
The project was driven by the need for more water to fight fires, city officials said in a news release. Iona’s current water tank, on the east end of Iona Road, has a 500,000-gallon capacity.
The tank project cost $1 million, with the tank itself costing $800,000. The city paid for it out of a $3.9 million bond to improve the city’s water system voters passed in 2017.
Dome Technology has built similar tanks in Sugar City and Shelley. Iona officials contacted Dome after seeing the one in Shelley, which was finished in 2018.
“(Dome Technology was) the low bid, but I will tell you we were impressed with the product that was built in Shelley,” said Iona Mayor Daniel Gubler. “We really wanted to try to make the bidding process competitive, so we jumped through a lot of hoops to accommodate everyone that wanted to bid the project. We are happy with the outcome.”
Shelley had planned to spend about $1.1 million but Dome’s model shaved almost $400,000 off the cost. Shelley used the saved money to upgrade a well, said Mayor Stacy Pascoe.
“We have a lot of older fixed-income people,” Pascoe said. “When I look at spending money, I base it off of needs first, and then if it was my own money, ‘Would I spend it on that?’”
As well as making the city better prepared for fires, Gubler said the new tank will boost water pressure and volume for the entire city. Gubler said the city had been considering replacing the water line in the area around 55th East due to poor water flow but won’t have to anymore.
“My full expectation is a generation or two from now can say Iona has great water (and) the product they chose when they did is benefiting us today and into the future,” Gubler said. “We fully anticipate that tank will be here in 100 years.”
