Watauga Water Treatment Plant - Executive Summary

| Accident History | Chemicals | Emergency Response | Registration | Source | Executive Summary |

Executive Summary - Risk Management Plan 
 
The City of Johnson City Water and Sewer Services Department operates three (3) wastewater treatment plants (Knobcreek, Brushcreek and Regional) and two (2) water filtration plants (Unicoi and Watauga) which all use chlorine in the disinfection process. The City of Johnson City Water and Sewer Services Department takes a very serious approach in providing safe drinking water to our customers, treating the wastewater as well as protection of the environment. As a result, the City also take a very serious approach in the way chlorine is handled, stored and used at each of our facilities. All water and wastewater treatment plants use chlorine stored in 1-ton cylinders and each facility has chlorination rooms that contain the cylinders in use as well as additional storage for cylinders not on-line. The chlorination rooms have monitoring alarms to alert the operators should a leak occur.  Private chemical companies transport the cylinders to each fa 
cility and are off-loaded by a monorail system to the storage area. The operators at each facility have received training in the safe handling of the cylinders, proper use of personal protective equipment and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) use. 
 
This Risk Management Plan (RMP) submission was a cooperative effort between the water treatment, wastewater treatment, engineering and administration divisions of the Water and Sewer Services Department as well as the Johnson City Fire Department and the Washington County Emergency Management Agency. This plan will become part of the Local Emergency Response Plan for the Johnson City and Washington County area. 
 
This Risk Management Plan, as submitted, followed the criteria as set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office (EPA/CEPPO) and followed the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AWWARF) guide, "Compliance Guidance and Model Risk Management Program for W 
ater Treatment Plants" as a tool for development of our plan. Each facility location was mapped to determine wind speed, direction and plume modeling, using real wind speed and direction data obtained at each facility. 
 
Watauga Water Treatment Plant 
 
Facility Description 
 
The Watauga Water Treatment Plant is located on Dalewood Drive in Johnson City, Tennessee near the intersection of Watauga Road. The Watauga WTP is owned and operated by the City of Johnson City Water and Sewer Services Department and produces 16 MGD of potable water for residential, commercial and industrial users. The Watauga WTP uses liquid chlorine, shipped and stored in 1-ton cylinders, and converts the liquid chlorine to a gas, which is then injected into the finished water for disinfection purposes. After the disinfection process is complete, the water is then pumped into the distribution system for use. 
 
 
 
 
Accidental Release Policies and Emergency Response Policies 
 
Should an accidental release of chlorine at 
this plant occur, the plant operator is alerted to the release by alarms and the operator will follow the Emergency Response Plan (ERP) Procedures, which are defined in the department's Process Safety Management (PSM) manual. The operator will also notify the Chief Operator at this plant as well as the Superintendent of Water & Wastewater Treatment and will notify 9-1-1 of the release in which case the Johnson City Fire Department, the Johnson City/Washington County Hazardous Materials Team and the Johnson City/Washington County Emergency Management Agency will respond to the plant site for proper mitigation of the release. 
 
"Worst-Case" and "Alternate Release" Scenarios 
 
The "worst-case" scenario for the Watauga WTP is based upon chlorine with a total-release of 2,000 pounds, at a rate of 200 -lbs./minute for a 10-minute duration in an urban setting. This scenario is based upon Table A5-1 of the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AWWARF) guide, "Compliance Guidance 
and Model Risk Management Program for Water Treatment Plants" (CLW-2).  
 
The "alternate release" scenario for this plant was also based on chlorine, using Table A5-1 of the AWWARF guidebook, but with a different quantity released. The "alternate release" scenario is based upon a total release of 317 pounds, at a rate of 10.5 lbs./minute over a 60-minute duration in an urban setting. 
 
Wind speed and direction were obtained from actual site conditions over a 60-day time period and these were factored into the plume modeling for both the "worst-case" and "alternate release" scenarios. The plume models were generated using the Aloha and Cameo programs as developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 
 
5-Year Accident History 
 
The City of Johnson City Water and Sewer Services Department is proud of our safety record in handling chlorine. We have not had any accidents using chlorine in our wastewater treatment process at this plant. This accident-free record is due mainly to the em 
phasis placed on safe handling of chlorine by both management and operators. 
 
Prevention Program 
 
The Watauga WTP's Prevention Program is classified as a Program 3 and also falls under the OSHA Process Safety Management Rule. One of the most important aspects of prevention is the training received by the operators and maintenance provided to this plant by our Facility Maintenance Division. Routine maintenance is performed on the chlorine alarms as well as the chlorinators and cylinder regulators. 
 
 
 
 
Emergency Response Program 
 
Should an accidental release of chlorine occur at this plant, the Johnson City Fire Department, Johnson City/Washington County Hazardous Materials Team and the Johnson City/Washington County Emergency Management Agency will respond to the plant and the LEPC Plan for Washington County and Johnson City will be placed into operation. The LEPC details the chain of command, public notification and if necessary evacuation procedures. 
 
Planned Safety Improvements 
 
At t 
he time that this Risk Management Plan was developed, the Watauga is in the early stages of an expansion. After the expansion is complete, the RMP as submitted on June 21, 1999, will be revised and updated.
Click to return to beginning