PAWTUCKET, RI, Oct. 15, 2004 -- Cooley COOLPRO reinforced polypropylene engineered membranes are being used to protect 200 million gallons of water in the Big Canyon Reservoir (BCR), located in Corona del Mar, Calif. The Big Canyon Reservoir, which serves water to Newport Beach, was built in the 1960s and is now undergoing a $5-million rehabilitation.
The reservoir has been plagued in the past by turbidity and taste-and-odor problems associated with algae growth, as well as other quality complaints, which can sometimes occur in an uncovered reservoir. The rehabilitation project called for the reservoir to be fitted with a specially formulated polypropylene floating cover in order to protect the water.
The floating cover was fabricated from a 60-mil, polypropylene composite membrane, with a unique 40/60 distribution ratio coating to achieve better abrasion resistance, with the thicker side of the membrane being used for the underside of the cover. The reservoir was also fitted with a 45-mil polypropylene chaffer strip around its sides, which is anchored to the reservoir's concrete floor. The chaffer strip protects the cover from excessive wear due to movement of the cover as a result of fluctuating water levels. The thicker underside of the cover contributes further to this protection. This project used 1.5 million square feet of COOLPRO between the floating cover and the chaffer strip.
Firms assisting the city of Newport Beach in this project design were Tetra Tech Inc., the project design firm, PBS&J which supplied project inspection and administration, Hilts Consulting Group, which furnished oversight for the cover installation, and URS Corp., which provided the necessary geotechnical services.
The cover and chaffer strip were fabricated by Colorado Lining International Inc., in Parker, Colo., and installed by Comanco Environmental Corp., of Tustin, Calif.
COOLPRO is a high quality, NSF-approved reinforced polypropylene geomembrane manufactured by Cooley Engineered Membranes, located in Pawtucket, R.I. The geomembranes are designed to withstand the harshness of the environment for very long periods. Cooley's technical team has carried out extensive study and testing on material systems involving polymers, ultraviolet inhibitors, antioxidants and pigments, and has a comprehensive knowledge database from which materials are developed. Containment and storage applications for the covers can be found in many industries including, potable and raw water, aquaculture, wastewater, agriculture, power storage and more.
About Cooley
Cooley Group (www.cooleygroup.com) has its roots in Cooley Finishing Company, founded in 1926 to finish cotton cloth into awning fabric. Today, Cooley employs the latest in chemical engineering technology to produce an array of state-of-the-art materials. The five divisions of the Cooley Group are Cooley Engineered Membranes, Cooley Building Products, Cooley Specialty Products, Cooley Sign Products and Cooley Digital Products. Cooley Engineered Membranes offers a wide variety of high-performance geomembrane products used worldwide for primary and secondary containment of oil, chemicals, diesel, jet fuel and gasoline, as well as drinking water, aquaculture, waste collection and treatment ponds.
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