Large Water Tank Encapsulations

Site: Parker Point

Client: Rio Tinto

Service: Scaffolding

Capability: Project Delivery

Industry: Mining and Resources

Scope of Works

The works formed part of the Coastal Water Supply Sustaining (CWSS) Project at Parker Point, Dampier, in Western Australia, supporting Rio Tinto’s sustaining capital program to secure long-term water supply for Dampier operations. The seawater desalination plant is located on reclaimed land south of the existing jetty and allows for future expansion, including potential duplication to the north.

Brockman Engineering was contracted to design, fabricate, and construct five above-ground steel water tanks for raw seawater, filtrate, permeate, product water, and brine storage, ranging from 11 m to 25 m in diameter and up to 15 m in height.

Breight delivered the full containment encapsulation scope to support blasting and coating across all five tanks, including the design, supply, erection, and dismantling of a fully enclosed temporary containment system with scaffolding, environmental barriers, and controlled access points. The works met strict spatial tolerances, access and separation requirements, and accommodated roof penetrations, nozzles, and nominated access openings while complying with all safety, environmental, and operational requirements.

Key Activities

• Provision of full containment encapsulation to support blasting
  and coating activities.
• Installation of scaffold platforms at two-metre spacing.
• Construction of containment structures maintaining a minimum clearance of 300 mm from tank surfaces.
• Construction of containment structures with a maximum
  clearance of 1,000 mm from tank surfaces.
• Erection of temporary enclosures to fully encapsulate tanks,
  including sides, roof and access points.
• Use of scaffolding, monoflex, shrink-wrap plastic sheeting,
  reinforced tarpaulins and other suitable materials to achieve full environmental containment.
• Management of encapsulation scaffold construction constraints and separation distances between tanks.
• 1x Raw Seawater Tank – 14m Diameter and 15m in height
• 1x Filtrate Tank – 14m Diameter and 9m in height
• 1x (SWRO) Permeate Water Tank – 11m Diameter and 9m in height
• 1x Product Water Tank – 25m Diameter and 15 meters in height
• 1x Brine Tank – 14m Diameter and 9 meters in height