CWLP's Water Purification Plant - Executive Summary |
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All City Water, Light & Power personnel have a common objective, the safe, efficient operation of the utility. We have an obligation to preserve the human, physical, and financial resources of the utility. In fulfilling this obligation and in meeting our objective, protecting the environment and the health and safety of our employees and community will be our most compelling responsibility and as such, must be considered in every phase of utility operation. Accordingly, our policy is to: - comply with all rules, regulations, and laws that protect the environment, the citizens of the Springfield area, and employee safety and health. -provide a work environment which is free from recognized hazards. -train our employees to be aware of the hazards of their job and in the safe work practices, policies, and procedures that apply. -hold each employee accountable for safe execution of all jobs assigned. -hold each level of supervision accountable for the enforcement of safety rules, polici es, and procedures. Supervision has the greatest impact and thus the greatest opportunity to influence and promote safe work practices among our work force. Therefore, planning and conducting each job with environmental protection and safety as primary concerns, is the responsibility of each supervisor. City Water, Light & Power's accidental release prevention policy utilizes engineering controls, site specific procedures, and administrative controls. All applicable requirements and procedures of the U.S. E.P.A. Prevention Program are followed. The chlorination system is located at 3100 Stevenson Drive at the Water Purification Plant. This system was installed to disinfect and protect the drinking water for the City of Springfield, Illinois. In order to provide a safe supply of drinking water, the chlorination system must operate reliably. To assure this, regular maintenace is completed on the system. A feature of the chlorination system is that a majority of the system is under vacuum. This feature would significantly reduce the amount of chlorine released in the event of a line failure. There is a control room operator at the facility 24 hours per day, 7 days per week that monitors the system. The site has the necessary safety equipment and repair kits to fix any leaks that occur. The offsite consequency analysis includes two release scenarios, identified as "Worst Case Release" and "Alternative Release." By E.P.A. definition, the "Alternative Release Scenario" is more likely to occur. Under the "Alternative Release Scenario," there are no residents within the affected radius corresponding to the toxic endpoint distance which was calculated using E.P.A.s RMP*Comp. The accidental release prevention program is based on the following key elements: training of all affected personnel, preventive maintenance program, the use of state-of-the-art process and safety equipment, the use of effective operating procedures, performance of a hazard review of equipmen t and procedures, and implementation of an auditing and inspection program. Through the effective use of existing resources, our facility has not had an accidental release of chlorine in the past 5 years. However, if in the event of a release, an emergency response program has been coordinated with the City of Springfield Fire Department. City Water, Light & Power takes pride in its environmental health and safety programs and intends to work with the community to continue this for the future. |