anyone know the us equivalent of bs8007 - british code fordesign of water retaining concrete structures - and how it differs ie philosophy, crack widths etc
Not sure there is a direct document equivalent. Depending on what it will hold, check the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and ACI. I know ACI has recommended crack width tolerances. In general, the structure would be designed to ACI 318 with all the other assorted criteria thrown in.
I agree with Ron - it depends what the structure is to hold.
But generally, ACI 350 is used to design water-retaining sanitary structures. ACI 350 states that ACI 318 is to be used unless otherwise noted in ACI 350. The main modification is the increase of certain load factors from ACI 318-9.2. Crack control is obviously a main concern for water-retaining structures, and the criteria ACI 350 provides is ACI 318-10.6.4.
For (much) more information, I suggest checking out ACI 350 and ACI 318. Also, The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has a couple of great references - "Rectangular Concrete Tanks (Revised Fifth Edition)" and "Circular Concrete Tanks Without Prestressing" - that you should also check out. Both publications provide helpful explanations of ACI 318 and ACI 350 requirements.
