The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Pueblo, Colorado U.S.A
The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Pueblo, Colorado U.S.A: "Sewage release in river greater than estimated
By CHRIS WOODKA
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
The amount of partially treated sewage released into the Arkansas River at the Pueblo water reclamation plant earlier this month was larger than originally suspected.
The release was estimated at 498,000 gallons, rather than the 374,000 gallons reported after the Nov. 2 incident, said Gene Michael, wastewater director, in a recent letter to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
“The revised estimate is based on a finding that the fault in the vacuum line occurred earlier than was originally believed,” Michael said.
The release was caused by a chlorine gas injector that shut down when a brittle plastic pipe was broken by an employee who was cleaning, removing a vacuum from the line on a one-ton chlorine tank.
The valve that adds chlorine to the water shut down - as it is designed to in order to prevent the release of toxic gas - when the vacuum disappeared, causing water with elevated levels of E. coli bacteria to enter the river, Michael said.
As much of the flow as possible was diverted to aeration basins.
The discharge elevated E. coli counts in the Arkansas River to 4,000-24,000 colonies per 100 milliliters from a measurement of 20 per 100 milliliters above the treatment plant imme"
By CHRIS WOODKA
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
The amount of partially treated sewage released into the Arkansas River at the Pueblo water reclamation plant earlier this month was larger than originally suspected.
The release was estimated at 498,000 gallons, rather than the 374,000 gallons reported after the Nov. 2 incident, said Gene Michael, wastewater director, in a recent letter to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
“The revised estimate is based on a finding that the fault in the vacuum line occurred earlier than was originally believed,” Michael said.
The release was caused by a chlorine gas injector that shut down when a brittle plastic pipe was broken by an employee who was cleaning, removing a vacuum from the line on a one-ton chlorine tank.
The valve that adds chlorine to the water shut down - as it is designed to in order to prevent the release of toxic gas - when the vacuum disappeared, causing water with elevated levels of E. coli bacteria to enter the river, Michael said.
As much of the flow as possible was diverted to aeration basins.
The discharge elevated E. coli counts in the Arkansas River to 4,000-24,000 colonies per 100 milliliters from a measurement of 20 per 100 milliliters above the treatment plant imme"
posted by WestEnd at 7:17 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home