Day 6 – Chile Earthquake 2010 – Essbio Waste Water Treatment Plant
Hualpen
ESSBIO WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANT
(36⁰ 48′ 21″, 73⁰ 06′ 19″)
We arrived at the plant around 6 PM on Friday. The plant manager was very happy to show us the plant and the damage to his structures. The plant has two primary treatment tanks and three secondary treatment tanks. The primary tanks performed well and are fully operational. The secondary tanks failed and the contents spilled into the Bio Bio River. The failed tanks consist of four reinforced concrete segments with no structural connection at the joint. During the earthquake the segments shifted causing the joints to open creating an 8 inch gap between the segments. The bridges connecting the inner to the outer ring also shifted and are close to losing their support. The final chlorine treatment concrete segments also shifted and caused a gap. The support buildings and solids tanks performed well with no noticeable damage. The primary treatment tanks performed well due to their smaller size and concrete ring beam around the top of the tank. The equipment and piping was generally well anchored and performed well. The piping damage occurred at the piping joint with the tank due to the lack of flexible joints. Finally, we noticed that at least portions of the plant were built above an old dump site.
Video footage taken at the Essbio Waste Water Treatment Plant(below)
