Accidental Chlorine Leak
On Saturday April 15th, the water treatment facility experienced a small chlorine leak and residents were restricted from the surrounding area for approximately 2 hours. An employee accidentlly initiated a chlorine alarm button which caused the chlorine cylinders to automatically lock down. When the cylinders automatically locked down, a regulator became loose and a very limited amount of chlorine gas trapped in the feed tube was released. Less than 1 pound of chlorine gas was released and was isolated in the chlorine building. Since this event, the chlorine regulator has been checked and reinstalled to the correct torque. The District is in the design process of replacing the chlorine gas disinfection process with sodium hypochlorite at the water treatment facility and at the wastewater treatment facility. The design for the water treatment plant project is almost 100% complete.
Please contact Michael Fritschi, Interim General Manager, at mfritschi@rmcsd.com.