Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority - WTP - Executive Summary |
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The Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority's Water Treatment Plant uses chlorine to treat raw water to produce a potable water for use by the Authority's customers. The Water Treatment Plant has a maximum inventory of five two thousand pound chlorine cylinders, or 10,000 pounds. The worst case scenario for this facility involves the failure of a 2,000 pound cylinder, realeasing all 2,000 pounds in 10 minutes. For this scenario, under worst-case weather, the chlorine could travel 5.20 miles before dispersing enough to no longer pose a hazard to the public. The alternative release scenario involves the failure of a transfer hose, releasing 750 pounds of chlorine in 15 minutes. For this scenario, the chlorine could travel 0.30 miles before dispersing enough to no longer pose a hazard to the public. This facility was designed under the ANSI/NSF Standard 60 (Drinking Water Treatment Chemicals - Health Effects - National Sanitation Foundation). The facility has the chlorine contain ed in a chlorine room, which is closed off to the rest of the facility and the outside. This air tight room has numerous chlorine monitors located in it to detect a release. Visual checks are also conducted periodically. Additionally, a solution of ammonium hydroxide is used when changing cylinders to detect any chlorine leaks. This facility has had no accidental releases of chlorine within the past five years. The Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority's Water Treatment Plant is included in a community Emergency Response Plan which is administered by the Greene County Department of Emergency Services. |