Water plant foundation poured

On a frosty Friday morning, crews converged to pour the concrete foundation walls for New Rockford's municipal water plant addition.

New Rockford native John Lindstrom and his firm Lindstrom Concrete & Construction led the pour, with material provided by Heartland Ready Mix of Carrington. The general contractor, Sentry Crane, was on site overseeing the project.

Due to the cold weather, extra precautions had to be taken to prevent the water in the concrete from freezing. There were additives mixed into the concrete, and frost blankets (shown at left) were used to the cover the concrete while it cured for a duration of 5 days. Lindstrom also used a Thawzall, or a mobile diesel heater that pumps hot water through tubing to keep the temperature under the blankets to within the required specifications.

The air temperature bottomed out at -8 degrees on Monday morning, but the frost blankets kept the temperature around the concrete above freezing. With a reading of 44.4 degrees inside the blankets that morning, the contractors ensured that the concrete would be able to hydrate and achieve the specified strength.

The 29-by-36 foot addition will house the new reverse osmosis treatment units, which will be installed next year.

The pour marked the end of major progress on the project until spring. "The contractor will be working on miscellaneous items over the winter, but there is not a lot that can be done until the precast wall and roof arrive on site, which is scheduled for the beginning of March," according to Wade Senger of Interstate Engineering.