Ten Mile Water Treatment Plant - Executive Summary |
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Description of water system for Helena, Montana The City of Helena's Water Division (HWD) goal is to ensure customer satisfaction by consistently delivering high quality water today and in the future. The HWD serves more than 25 thousand customers with 9364 service taps including 155 fire lines with an average of 5.2 million gallons of water per day on an annual basis. The total annual gallonage from all sources for 1997 is 1.777 BG* with a peak day of 10.4 MG*. To supply this amount of water, we operate two surface water treatment plants--the Missouri River Water Treatment Plant (MRTP) located at 2560 Canyon Ferry Road, and the Tenmile Water Treatment Plant west of Helena at 1115 Rimini Road. The Tenmile Water Plant is in operation year round while the MRTP is used only during the summer months for peak demands. Additional water is obtained from the Hale system which consists of the Oro Fino and Eureka infiltration galleries. The department's two treatment plants are maintained, ev aluated and upgraded to stay abreast of advancements in technology, health science and governmental regulations. The Helena water distribution system consists of five finished water storage reservoirs (Malben, Winne, Hale and Upper Hale, Woolston) and pumping stations (Forest Estates, Hale, Eureka, Dahlhausen, Reeders Village) linked together with 185 miles of water transmission and distribution pipelines. The Chessman (530 MG) and Scott (195 MG) reservoirs in the Tenmile watershed also provide additional water for the Tenmile Water Plant during low flows. These reservoirs are filled with spring run off water. Carollo Engineers of Boise, Idaho completed a Water Master Plan Update for the City of Helena in April 1997. The Public Works Department has copies of the Water Master Plan if customers would like to review it. Phase one of this update determined that the existing Missouri River Treatment Plant should be rehabilitated or replaced due to age of equipment, public health risks, and operational safety issues. Plant replacement or rehabilitation costs were significant. The least costly scenario was to replace the capacity of the existing plant with high quality groundwater supplies if available. Test drilling of these wells has started in 1998, and the outlook is not good and recycling on surface water treatment plant is likely scenario. Accidental Release Prevention To prevent chlorine release it is standard operating procedure to have two operators work on tank changes or to work on the Chlorine Pressure Reducing Valves (CPRV's). An emergency repair kit is stored close to the cylinders. Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) are stored in an adjacent room. They are wall mounted with quick release brackets. An oxygen cylinder is also stored by the SCBA's. Regular maintenance is performed on all chlorination equipment and safety equipment. Work orders are generated for chlorination equipment and all safety equipment, i.e. SCBA's. All work orders are track ed by computer. The Facility and Regulated Substances This is a local government owned and operated facility for the production of potable water for the City of Helena. The only reportable regulated substance for the RMP plan is chlorine. Two to eight tons of chlorine are stored at this facility in 150# and ton cylinders. No more than two ton cylinders are on line at a time. One cylinder is in actual use and the other is in standby. The online tanks are on tank mounted isolated regulators called Chlorine Pressure Reducing Valves (CPRV's) that reduce the chlorine pressure to a vacuum state. Chlorine feed equipment supplies a vacuum to the tanks allowing the release of chlorine to the feeders. All feed lines supply chlorine below atmospheric pressure. Should a leak develop the feeders would be unable to supply enough vacuum to continue the release of chlorine and the feed would stop at the CPRV attached to each tank. No flammable substances or other restricted items are stored in the c hlorine tank rooms. The room has a chlorine detector connected to an alarm panel, annunciator horn, computer, and autodialer. All unacknowledged alarms initiate the autodialer which calls all on duty and off duty personnel till acknowledged. If the alarm conditions exists after an hour it again starts calling operators out. All alarms and autodialers are on batteries, uniterruptable power supplies, and back up electrical generator. Worst-Case Scenario The worst case scenario would be the total loss of one ton of chlorine through catastrophic valve or tank failure. Response time could be so limited (less than 15 minutes) that under the right conditions total loss of one ton of chlorine is possible. Alternate Scenario Valve failure or leak while tank is being worked on. Disregarding minor releases the less worst case scenario would be CPRV failure, CPRV to tank connection, or tank valve leak. Operators would close the tank valve either shutting chlorine off or reducing the flow to a manageable level for repairs. Accidental Release Prevention. Operators are trained in the proper way to change CPRV's and tanks. Regular maintenance is kept on the CPRV's, lines, and feeders. Cylinders with exceptionally difficult or tight valves are rejected and returned. Self contained breathing apparatus and tanks are kept in a separate adjacent room along with emergency oxygen. Operators are trained in proper leak detection and correction. Two operators are required for tank changes or repairs. A third operator is notified of any leaks and told to notify emergency responders if communication is lost for more than 20 minutes . Five Year Accident History. No accidents or chlorine releases in the last five years. Emergency Response Program As per written emergency manual. The manual is stored by the MSDS manual. These manuals along with the operations manual are stored in the plain view. Another emergency response manual is stored near the SCBA's. Planned Changes Continuing r eview and training. Updates to manuals and procedures as required. |