City of Natchitoches Water Treatment Plant - Executive Summary |
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Executive Summary for the City of Natchitoches Water Treatment Plant The City of Natchitoches Water Treatment Plant is a surface water treatment facility which uses various chemicals to purify approximately 5 million gallons of water per day. One of the chemicals used to purify water is chlorine. Chlorine is used to eliminate harnful bacteria as well as viruses and other pathogens. Chlorine is in a gaseous state at normal temperature and pressure, but at the water treatment plant it is in a liquid state stored under pressure in one ton metal cylinders. 1) The accidental release prevention and emergency policies in place at our plant consist of various elements. The primary prevention mechanism is operator training, which is accomplished through a) on the job training b) written testing and c) safety meetings and review of safety procedures. We have chosen the safest possible equipment for adding chlorine to the water. We use what is called remote vacuum. Using this method there is no danger of a chlorine leak beyond the chlorine cylinder itself. Should a release occur the first step is to call 911and report the release.The local fire department which has personnel familiar with the location and quantity of chlorine stored at our facility, is then called. Depending upon the severity of the release the local police department will be called if evacuation is necessary. It is the intention of the City of Natchitoches to have as safe a facility as possible and we have comitted the funds and manpower necessary to accomplish this end. 2) The only regulated substance handled at the City of Natchitoches' Water Treatment Plant is chlorine. As stated above chlorine comes from the manufacturer in metal cylinders containing 2000 pounds of chlorine. These cylinders are stored on the east side of the plant behind the main plant structure. Each cylinder comes with a metal cover protecting two valves. These covers are not removed until the cylinder is ready to be utilized. A major safety factor is the use of the remote vacuum system. With this system there is no chlorine under pressure beyond the vacuum regulator which is attached directly to the chlorine cylinder. Thus any line breakage or equipment failure beyond the cylinder will not result in a release of chlorine. 3) The worst case scenario would be a release of 2000 pounds of chlorine in ten minutes. In such a scenario there would be off site impact. Using EPA's OCA Reference Table #7, the endpoint distance would be a 5.4 mile radius with a population of 21,000 within this 5.4 mile radius. In the alternative release scenario a quantity of 634 pounds of chlorine would be released in a 27.1 minute time frame. There would also be off site impact. Again using EPA's Reference Table #7, the endpoint distance would be a 2.0 mile radius with a population of 16,609 within this 2.0 mile radius. 4) All operators have been extensively trained in handling chlor ine and the proper safety requirements to be used at all times with chlorine. 5) There have been no releases of chlorine at the City of Natchitoches' Water Treatment Plant in the last five years. 6) Coordination with the local emergency responders has been adopted and all personnel are being trained in the proper emergency response. 7) There are several changes planned which we believe will improve upon an already excellent safety record. We plan to conduct a chlorine safety seminar inviting personnel from the fire department, police departmentand local emergency planning comission to take part in the seminar. Also during a plant upgrade scheduled for fiscal year 1999-2000 we plan on relocating the chlorination system and housing it in a building where release mitigation equipment can be installed. |