HomeVirginia Performance Standard

The Best of the Best:
Meeting the Virginia Performance Standard

STRUCTURALLY SOUND

PTAV Listed Tanks of Standard Design are marked plainly to indicate maximum depth of burial. Heavy Duty Design Tanks meet traffic loads.

Special Design Tanks meet specific site needs, like extra deep burial.

All tanks, whether Standard Design, Heavy Duty Design or Special Design shall be made to resist flotation, even if the tank is empty and there is groundwater at three feet.

WATERTIGHT

All PTAV Listed Tanks shall be watertight. All pipe entries shall be watertight.

Riser lids at grade or above grade shall have locking devices or weigh more than 59 pounds to deter entry by children

Quality Assurance: to be Listed
A licensed engineer must inspect the manufacturing process and structural designs to satisfy himself the tanks meet the Performance Standard.

VIEW VIRGINIA PERFORMANCE STANDARD

Structural Loading

By adding heavy concrete blocks to the side of a tank which has been rolled onto its side, an engineer can determine the ability of the tank to resist strong earth loads due to deep burial.

Using Vacuum Testing

By decreasing the amount of air inside a sealed tank, the atmosphere places a heavy load on all parts of the tank

Vacuum Testing Checks every part of the tank equally. If the tank does not leak air it should not leak water. Whereas if the tank is filled with water, only at the bottom of the tank is there the highest water pressure. At the top, the water pressure to force a leak is zero.