When using a portable dump tank operation to supply water to the fireground, sometimes additional dump tanks are needed just to gain more usable capacity because of the storage capacity lost due to the slope or grade of the road surface. These photos from our 2015 seminar in Jefferson County, WV show exactly that. The slope of the dump site area significantly impacted usable capacity of each dump tank. Obviously, the flatter the surface the better for storage capacity...but sometimes you just have to work with what Mother Nature gives you. The important thing is to recognize this problem early on in the operation so that layout and resources can be considered before it becomes a crisis.

Dump tanks really cannot be "cribbed" up to level unless you plan on building an entire surface under the liner. The weight of the water will just end up winning out and probably damage the frame and or liner at some point. A Fol-Da-Tank Single-Lane Max tank might work if you can deploy the bladder part downhill on the slope. We have never tried that but are interested to see how that might work. And in some cases, we know that pumping the water off using a rural hitch might be the best option for using all the water brought to the scene. Of course in that case, pump-off ability becomes the weak link in the system as does the location of the tank-to-pump line(s) in the on-board tanks.

The bottom line...if you run in "hilly" areas practice your water supply set-ups under those circumstances before they are needed.