Central Elmore Water Authority - Executive Summary |
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The Central Elmore Water Treatment Facility is owned by the Central Elmore Water Authority. The facility is located at 65 Lakepoint Road, Eclectic Al. The parcel is further described as being in the Township 20 N, Range 20 E, Sections 22 and 27. The facility elevatioin is approximately 665 feet above sea level. The site consists of approximately 15 acres, bounded by rural residential to the north, south, east, and west. Elmore County Road 80 bounds the property along the north, northwest property boundary. An approximately 10,000 square feet concrete, steel, and brick building serves as the main plant for the facility. Most water treatment processes are conducted at this building. The front of the facility is the office section. The center portioin is where the filter units and alum feed, caustic soda feed, and fluoride feed equipment are kept and operated. The fluoride bulk storage tank is also in this center portion. There are day tanks at each feeder for daytime use of th esolutions to be fed. The rear of the facility is where the finished water pumps are housed and operated. The chlorine cylinders are housed in a separate partition of the rear section consisting of an enclosed concrete room with a ventilation system. There is a two million gallon clearwell outside the facility, to the south, for storage of potable water until called upon by the water system. To the west of the facility are two 7,500 bulk storage tanks surrounded by a containment wall. These house caustic soda and aluminum sulfate. To the south (rear) of the facility are two recycling ponds where the backwash water from the filter and clarifier washwater is stored until recycled into the raw water line. The Central Elmore Water Treatment Facility is a water treatment facility that treats raw surface water pumped from Lake Martin for the Elmore County area. Lake Martin is controlled and restricted in use by Alabama Power. The raw water is pumped from Lake Martin approximately 2 miles through an underground piping (raw water main) to the treatment plant. First raw water enters the plant and is mixed with aluminum sulfate (coagulant) and precaustic soda and chlorine solution as needed. The water then passes through a static mixer to adequately mix the water and chemicals. The coagulated particles are then passed through a clarifier to settle out the undesirable particles from the water. The water is then passed through the multimedia filters, consisting of gravel, sand, and activated carbon. The filtration process further removes undesirables from the water. After filtration; chlorine, fluoride (hydrofluosilic acid, 23%), and caustic soda are added to the water. THe finished water then goes to the clearwell where it is stored until it is pumped to the distribution grid and elevated tanks. Finished water is supplied to the Elmore County area. Normal through-put for the water treatment facility is approximately four million gallons/day and the maximum th rough-put is six million gallons/day. A Risk Management Plan (RMP) has been completed for the Central Elmore Water Board treatment facility located in Elmore County, Al. The RMP was required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and performed according to 40 CFR Part 68. The RMP was required because of five-2,000 pound chlorine cylinder tanks, which exceeds the threshold limit set forth under Accidental Release Prevention Requirements of the Clean Air Act Section 112r(7). This RMP falls under Program 2 because the chlorine process did not meet eligiblity requirements for Program 1, is not subject to Occupation Safety and Health Association (OSHA), Process Safety Management (PSM)(publicly owned facility in a state that does not have a delegated OSHA program), and is not categorized in the applicable standard industrial codes (SIC). The plan provides the Central Elmore Water Treatment Plant staff and management with guidance for developing and implementing certain environment al and emergency response policies. The plan also establishes appropriate management practices to help control potential releases. This plan shall be maintained at the Central Elmore Water Treatment Plant and will be updated as needed by the Water Treatment Plant Management. The plan shall be available on site for review by federal, state, and local agencies. Through periodically scheduled employee meetings, Central Elmore Water Treatment Plant personnel are made aware of the plan and the need to diligently enforce its objectives. The Central Elmore Water Treatment Plant RMP includes programs for Management, Safety Information, Hazard Analysis, Operating procedures, Training, Maintenance, Incident Investigation, and Compliance Audits. The Management Program includes a summarty of the Central Elmore Water Treatment Plant employees and their titles. This program also appoints the person(s) and position(s) responsible for implementing the RMP. Safety information includes material s afety data sheets (MSDS), maximum intended inventory, safe upper and lower parameters, eqipment specificaitons, and standards used to design build and operate the process (chlorine). THe Hazard Analysis Program includes identified hazards associated with the regulated substances, possible opportunities for equipment malfunction or human error, and steps to detect or monitor releases. The Operating Procedures Program includes procedures currently utilized by the plant for; initial startup, normal operations, temporary operations, emergency shutdown, shutdown, emergency operations, normal shutdown, and startup following a normal or emergency shutdown or a major change. Included in these procedures are consequences of deviation, steps to avoid, and equipment inspections. Training of employees at the plant is strictly enforced. All employees must complete a chlorine safety course instructed by a qualified instructor and all plant employees are required to obtain or have in possession a grade four Water Treatment Operator Certificate. These training records and certificates are kept at the plant in the employee files or on display. The Maintenance Program included a written list of preventative maintenance procedures to help ensure safe working conditions. These procedures include the inspection and testing of equipment, general good engineering and housekeeping procedures, and manufacturers recommended procedures. All employees receive on the job training in these areas. (Most maintenance procedures are completed by plant personnel, although extensive equipment repairs are completed by the manufacturer or approved contractors). The worst case scenario would include a toxic gas release of 1090 pounds in a 10 minute period into rural surroundings. The toxic endpoint would be .0087 mg/l; basis ERPG-2. The estimated distance to the toxic endpoint is 2.2 miles with a wind speed of 3.4 mph and air temperature of 77 degrees F. The offsite inpac t would affect approximately 100 people in the rural area. The alternative release scenario would be for a toxic gas release of 52 pounds/minute in a release duration of 60 minutes. The estimated distanced to the toxic endpoint would be .3 mile. There have been no accidental releases at the Central Elmore Water Treatment Facility at this time. RMP VALIDATION ERRORS-----------NO DATA TOO REPORT |