| AWWA Member Spotlight – Leslie D. Scott, P.E., Tank Industry Consultants
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AWWA Member Spotlight – Leslie D. Scott, P.E., Tank Industry Consultants

Leslie D. ScottJob title and employer: Chief Engineer, Tank Industry Consultants, Indianapolis (office based in Atascadero, Calif.)

Qualifications: B.S. Architectural Engineering, California Polytechnic State University; registered professional engineer, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington; nationally-recognized expert for field-erected tanks and shop-fabricated storage tanks.

How and why did you get involved in water tank design and engineering? In 1980, while I was attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, a fellow dorm resident invited me to have dinner with her family. Her father, a Cal Poly alum, asked me what I was studying, what I knew about design of steel structures, and what was my experience and skill level with drafting. He then asked if I'd be interested in applying for a job with a locally-based, regional company that designed and constructed welded steel water storage tanks. But for that evening, I doubt that tank design and engineering would have ever entered my career thoughts. I applied for the job and was selected because of my extensive drafting experience, geometry and trigonometry knowledge, structural engineering course of study, and computer programming experience. 

Leslie Scott's kids and grandkidsHow did your career progress? I began with preparing tank fabrication and construction drawings.  Then my role quickly expanded to include structural design of tanks. I progressed through positions of increasing responsibility with the company, including president, while always maintaining direct and supervisory roles in tank structural engineering and detailing. We sold the company to a nation-wide tank engineering and construction company in 1997. After two more corporate buyouts, the San Luis Obispo operation became a part of Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I). In the meantime, I left in 1998 to provide specialized consulting for tank engineering and detailing needs. In 2000, I rejoined the San Luis Obispo group for CB&I as the west region engineering and estimating manager. In 2011, CB&I decided to close the San Luis Obispo operation and I joined Paso Robles Tank, another tank engineering and construction company. In 2018, I joined Tank Industry Consultants to continue my career in water tank design and engineering from the other side of the table. (Pictured right, Scott's kids and grandchildren)

What led to your focus on designing innovative tank roof structures? In 1985, a tank owner asked me to design a roof system replacement for a ground storage tank that would prevent the corrosion problems experienced by one of their tanks. The 150-foot diameter tank was less than six years old, but the roof had hundreds of holes from internal corrosion. The tank stored water that contained hydrogen sulfide, creating a corrosive environment in the vapor space above the maximum liquid level. This condition is similar to, though generally more severe than, the conditions sometimes encountered with chlorine exposure in water tanks.

In response to the request, I developed a roof structure design with an interior that had generally smooth surfaces and could easily be painted similar to the tank floor. The system performed beautifully and could be adequately protected with high performance industrial coatings. I designed many tank roofs of this type over the next 10 years, but only for industrial applications. I tried to attract the interest of water tank owners, but the idea was usually rejected because of the appearance of the external structural members, even when the local conditions were ideally suited to this type of roof. In recent years, forward-thinking owners and consultants have begun using this roof type because of the substantial benefits in asset preservation and reduced lifetime cost of the structure.  When comparing the appearance of an external structural system to the cost of increased maintenance and sometimes significant repairs or complete roof replacement, in many cases the external structural system looks quite attractive. My goal before I retire is to gain broader acceptance and widespread adoption of these types of improvements for the design and construction of steel tank roof systems.

What do you like most about your work? It’s never boring. With the varying tank details, conditions of service, potential need to repurpose a tank, components requiring rehabilitation or upgrade, and other unusual circumstances, each project presents a new set of challenges to overcome in order to achieve optimum performance and reduce lifetime maintenance costs. It is quite satisfying to use the education, training, and experience gained over the course of my career to develop innovative designs and solutions to improve the performance and design life of steel storage tanks. The joy, and sometimes thrill of the project, derives from developing and implementing creative solutions for recurring problems.

What is one work achievement you are particularly proud of? The roof construction details that I developed for the severe duty design project mentioned above formed the basis of the concepts that led to me being awarded a United States patent for roof structures on large steel storage tanks. This design involved complete elimination of interior inaccessible areas combined with a complete seal welded external structural system for the tank roof.

That replacement roof system has since been recoated twice but has been in continuous service for over thirty years and is anticipated to remain in ongoing service with regular maintenance of the coating system.  I still advocate that this type of roof system is best practice for achieving a long-life roof structure, reducing lifetime maintenance costs, and improving asset preservation results.

How have you benefited from your participation in tank-related standards committees and subcommittees over the past 36 years? I was about 26 when I started on the Elevated Steel Tanks, Standpipes, and Reservoirs committee, and the AWWA D100 subcommittee. Most of the other members were in their 40s or 50s, and I benefited from conversations with these experienced people on various technical aspects of tank design and the tank-related AWWA standards.

The company I was with at the time was involved with design, construction, and painting of welded steel tanks, so I soon joined the AWWA D102 subcommittee. My company expanded its product lines to include bolted tanks, so I also joined the AWWA D103 subcommittee. My involvement with each committee and exposure to experienced and knowledgeable industry professionals accelerated my knowledge of tank design at a much faster pace than I would have experienced otherwise.

Now, with more than 41 years of experience in tank design, evaluation, inspection, construction, coating, and related fields, I am vice chair of AWWA's Steel and Composite Tanks Committee (SCTC), vice chair of the SCTC subcommittee for development of the standard for General Requirements for Water Storage Tanks, chair of the SCTC Subcommittee for development of the standard for Welded Carbon Steel Flat-Bottom Tanks for Water Storage, chair of the SCTC Subcommittee for guidelines for antenna installations on water towers, and chair of a new independent committee for evaluation of Steel Corrugated Tanks. I am also an active participant in 13 other subcommittees and task groups of the SCTC.  It is a big commitment, but due to the departure of many of the previous leaders and contributors to these committees, I feel it is important to share my knowledge with the next generation of industry leaders and continue to improve and evolve these standards before I retire.

I have developed many strong friendships with some of the industry professionals I've met along the way, even with members from competing firms. These friendships have been extremely rewarding and will be lifelong.

Scott's home improvement projects included building and installing the fireplace and built-in cabinets.  Please describe your family and your hobbies and interests. My wife, Kathy, and I will celebrate our 40th anniversary this fall. We have four children, two boys and two girls, and seven grandchildren ranging from 2 to almost 11. We are extremely fortunate to have three of our children plus spouses and five grandchildren live less than 15 minutes from our house.

My hobbies generally involve home improvement projects whether it be upgrading the trim and molding throughout the house, installing tile, or larger improvements such as building and installing the fireplace and built-in cabinets. Kathy and I also enjoy repairing and restoring furniture found at local thrift stores, yard sales and auctions.  One year we traveled by train to Chicago and then rental car down the Highway 127 World's Longest Yard Sale.  It was quite an adventure even if we didn't return with any significant treasures. (Pictured left, Scott's built-in cabinets and fireplace.)

What would people be surprised to know about you? My wife and I enjoy canning and preserving fruit and vegetables from our garden, mini orchard, and berry vines. This interest started about 25 years ago when I went to the store to buy some jalapeño jam for game day snacks, but the store didn't have any. Within a few years we were producing more than 200 pints of hot pepper jam for friends and family. This has expanded to other products we make from the fruits and vegetables from our home garden, including my favorites – dill pickles and fresh chili salsa. We have expanded our garden and micro-orchard to include over 30 varieties of fruits and vegetables. The ability to preserve them in different forms and enjoy them nearly year round is a different sort of asset preservation than I deal with in my tank world.
 

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