Abbeville WaterTreatment Plant - Executive Summary |
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30413 LDEQ Facility ID Number The Abbeville Water Treatment Plant is a publicly owned and operated water treatment system which services the city limits of Abbeville, Louisiana in the Parish of Vermilion. From 1990 Census Data, the total population of Abbeville is 11,114 persons and the plant services approximately 4,857 customers within the City. The operational procedures outlined in the facility's Risk Management Plan ensure that chlorine is safely changed out as necessary. Additionally, the chlorine sensor which can detect even minimal amounts of chlorine serves as the primary alarm that a release has occurred. At that time, the operator on duty must proceed with the emergency response measures in the Risk Management Plan, which includes evacuating the immediate area and requesting response from the local fire department (equipped to handle such incidents). The Abbeville Water Treatment Plant operates on three water wells and utilizes the following water treatment processes - aeration, iron removal and softening, pressure filtration, and disinfection. The only process involved in the treatment facility which has a regulated substance above the threshold limit is the disinfection process. Chlorine gas is used for disinfection. The facility has two (2) - 1 ton cylinders of chlorine gas on-line, and one (1) - ton cylinder in storage, all of which are located in the chlorine room area. The chlorine room area is a separate room in the facility. The room is equipped with a ventilator and a chlorine sensor which alarms at detection. A worst-case release and alternative release scenarios were conducted for the facility. The Risk Management Program Guidance for Wastewater Treatment Plants (October 1998) was utilized as a guidance to conduct each scenario. Although this facility is a water treatment plant, the RMP Guidance for Wastewater Treatment Plants addresses chlorination as a disinfection process. Therefore, this document is also applicable to the City's water treatment plant. For the worst-case scenario, the analysis considered the quantity released to be the maximum capacity of the largest vessel. Therefore, for an accidental release from the largest vessel, the entire affected area is within a 1.3 mile radius of the facility. The affected area for the alternative release scenario was calculated to be within a 0.1 mile radius of the facility. The alternative scenario was conducted for holes in the vessels ranging from 1/16 inch to 1/2 inch in diameter. The Water Treatment Plant personnel operate the facility in accordance with general practices to protect human health and public safety. Proper maintenance and precautions in operating the process equipment is crucial for the general accidental release prevention program. The Water Treatment Plant has not had any accidental releases of chlorine in the past five (5) years. Since the facility is not equipped to handle emergency response in case of a major release of chlor ine, an emergency response list is compiled which lists the order in contacting emergency response teams. |