DPU leader: Pump left on caused spill
By TUCKER LYON, T&D Government Writer Wednesday, May 04, 2005Before reading a statement concerning a chemical spill at the water treatment plant, Department of Public Utilities Manager Fred Boatwright on Tuesday reminded Orangeburg City Council that the monthly character trait they'd just approved is "forgiveness."
Then, Boatwright proceeded with his "unfortunate duty" to report on the spill into the Edisto River.
The "accidental discharge of sodium hydroxide from the water plant began around midnight on Friday, April 29," the manager said.
"The night shift operator at the water plant during the course of his routine inventory of the plant chemicals noticed that the level in the day tank for the sodium hydroxide was low," he said. "He turned on the pump which pumps (the chemical) from the bulk tank into the day tank, left the site and forgot the pump was running. The pump continued to run until the bulk tank was empty. The day tank overflowed, spilling (the chemical) into a pipe chase and eventually it found its way into a storm drain and into the river."
Estimating that it took approximately 5-1/2 hours for the bulk tank to be emptied, Boatwright said that would have been around 5:30 to 6 a.m.
"All of this went undetected until the plant superintendent discovered the situation at approximately 3 p.m.," he said. "It is important to note that DPU personnel at the wastewater plant, some miles down stream, were the first to report to the (S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control) a high pH and dead fish condition in the river. Secondly, DPU reported to DHEC and The T&D the cause of the situation as soon as we had confirmation that this was indeed the cause of the problems in the river. This was approximately 4 p.m."
The short-term corrective action, Boatwright said, was to plug the connection between the pipe chase and the drain with concrete. Long term, he said, construction is already under way at the plant on previously designed and permitted containment for the entire volume of the sodium hydroxide tanks.
"We met with DHEC and Natural Resources officials and gave them a report on all that we knew about the matter," he said. "We will continue to cooperate with all regulatory and other parties with interests in the matter to resolve it and to ensure that it will not happen again."
With no questions from council, Mayor Paul Miller thanked Boatwright for his report.
"It was a very unfortunate event and I hope we're never faced with that again," he said.
Council also discussed a legal matter concerning the Water Division in closed, executive session.
That matter, Boatwright confirmed after the session, does concern the recent chemical spill.
In other business, council:
Third reading of the Time Warner franchise renewal has been postponed, he said, because negotiations are ongoing. A meeting was held last week and "we made some progress," he said. With another meeting set for the 16th, he said final third reading of the ordinance could be ready by the end of the month, when the franchise expires. Although it's unlikely that third reading will be given during the next council session on the 17th, Walsh said that council can either hold a special meeting or extend the franchise another month.
According to Public Works Director Durwood Bowden, the Middleton Street project is about 99 percent finished. Work on the Russell Street portion has already begun. The second phase between Windsor Street and the Edisto Memorial Gardens won't begin until the first of the year.
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