City of Monroe Water Filtration Plant - Executive Summary |
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The City of Monroe Water Filtration Plant supplies potable drinking water to over 35,000 customers. Its located on the River Raisin in a residential area just east of the main downtown district. This treatment facility has been at the same local since its inception in 1929. The water treatment plant has been using gaseous chlorine since that first day. The facility stores six (6) tons of chlorine on site in one-ton containers. Two of these tons are being used at any given time. The chlorination system utilizes a vacuum created by water passing through an injector to feed the gas. This vacuum feed system does not allow gaseous chlorine to escape in the event of a feed line failure, making it much safer than a pressurized feed system. Under a worst case scenario, 2000 pounds of chlorine would be released. Under the A.L.O.H.A. (Area Locations Of Hazardous Atmospheres) program model this release shows a maximum threat zone of 1.5 miles, for a LOC concentration of 10ppm. The population estimated to be in this area is 18,500. The release data shows that the most critical area would be a plume approximately 1.5 miles long and .25 miles wide. Under the alternate release scenario, we assumed that a valve fitting was leaking gas. Estimated response time was 15 minutes. Under this scenario 330 pounds of chlorine would be released. The maximum threat zone for a LOC concentration of 10ppm was .29 miles. The estimated population in this area is 1,500. For this release a wind speed of 3 meters/sec. was used. The Monroe plant has a long history of chlorine use without any major releases. This is due to a comprehensive safety and training program that is continually re-evaluated. There have been no releases of chlorine at the facility in the past five years. All operators are trained on safe use of the chemical and are familiar with the emergency response procedures that have been in place for decades. A one-ton container repair kit has been at the local fire departm ents training disposal for nearly 30 years. The local fire department, which is staffed 24 hours a day, is within .5 miles of the stored chemical buildings. They make annual trips to tour the plant to keep them familiar with the facility and its layout. The chlorine room itself, is equipped with a |