Source Water Protection Plan for the Upper Ohio River Public Water Systems
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Source Water Protection Plan for the Upper Ohio River Public Water Systems September 2012 Buckeye Water District City of Toronto City of Steubenville with assistance from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission Table of Contents Page Executive Summary ……………………………………… 1 Purpose ……………………………………………………. 5 Background ……………………………………………….. 5 Identification of Local Source Water Concerns ……….. 9 Prioritization of Potential Contaminant Sources ……… 19 Source Management Strategies ………………………… 19 Contingency Planning …………………………………… 22 Public Education and Outreach ………………………… 24 Source Water Monitoring ………………………………… 27 Implementation ……………………………………………. 28 APPENDIX Background information on Upper Ohio River and the signatory public water systems …………………….. A-1 i Executive Summary Between Follansbee, West Virginia and East Liverpool, Ohio—a distance of about 30 river miles--there are six communities and one large industry that use the Ohio River as a source of drinking water. In 2012, representatives from several of these communities met to consider what they could do collectively to lessen impacts on the river’s water quality from other uses the river provides: industrial transport, industrial cooling, discharge of wastewater, recreation, etc. Over the course of six meetings, a joint source water protection plan was developed and ultimately agreed to by three of the six public water systems: the City of Toronto, the City of Steubenville and Buckeye Water District, which serves the Village of Wellsville. The initial step was to identify the activities occurring within the vicinity of these public water systems that could have the greatest potential impact on water quality, due to the amounts of chemicals involved and/or direct discharge to the Ohio River. These included river traffic, steel mills, power plants, chemical manufacturers and petroleum tank farms within this area. The next step was to identify activities the systems could implement to lessen the threats from the various potential sources of contamination. It was clear that the first line of defense is a facility’s own efforts—its Spill Prevention, Control and Counter- measures Plan, Facility Operations Plan, and compliance with environmental regulatory requirements. The second line of defense is the early warning function provided by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), and spill response by the companies contracted by industries to respond to a spill, coordinating with county Emergency Management Agencies (EMAs) and the Coast Guard. The third line of defense is public awareness and vigilance, which is greatly facilitated by the work performed by the Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District. The most effective strategy public water suppliers can pursue is to maintain good contact with all these groups, sharing information and concerns, and working together on solutions to water quality issues. As a result, the centerpiece of this joint source water protection plan is regularly scheduled meetings between public water suppliers and representatives of the various local industries. Public water suppliers also will improve communications with the county EMA. Other planned activities, focusing on better contact and public information, are included in the implementation plan on the following three pages. By working together, the public water suppliers can pursue similar goals without overlap, and can share the effort involved. It is hoped that the other communities within this 30-mile stretch that use the Ohio River for public drinking water will recognize the value of this plan and will eventually become formal participants in its implementation. 1 Implementation Plan Blue-shaded blocks indicate activities already in place and ongoing Activity Responsible When Comments Party Implemented SOURCE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES A. Meeting with Industrial PWS operators, Frequency to be Source Water Protection Dischargers on River. assisted by decided informational meetings for Meet with representatives of ORSANCO and Ohio --at least once every industry representatives major industrial dischargers EPA 2-3 years from E. Liverpool to on a regular basis to Wheeling have been held exchange information and by ORSANCO twice in the renew contacts. last five years. The next meeting will be October 2, 2012 B. Communication with PWS operators Discussions start towboat operators immediately Investigate purchase of VHF marine radios sharing wavelength with Ohio River commercial traffic C. Little Blue Run Dam. Jefferson County Once annually, Encourage County EMA staff EMA staff and starting in 2013. to ensure continued partners; designated maintenance and inspections PWS staff of Little Blue Run dam, by attending one quarterly LEPC meeting each year. D. Review construction SWCD staff Ongoing For sites disturbing more permits.* The Jefferson than one acre; promotes County SWCD reviews sediment trapping, settling permits for earth-disturbing facilities, inlet protection, activities (i.e., new dumping control, etc. development) E. Pursue Storm Water Ohio EPA, Jefferson Discussions start See text, page 25. Management Plan for SWCD immediately Columbiana County communities. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH F. Consumer Confidence PWS operator and Annually CCR is issued annually; Report. Include info on staff SWAP and pharmaceutical source water protection plan information will be included in CCR. Also include starting in 2013 information on where to safely dispose of leftover pharmaceuticals. G. Plant tours. Continue to PWS staff Ongoing – as offer tours upon request. requested 2 Activity Responsible When Comments Party Implemented H. River Sweep. The ORSANCO; Annually, in June signatory systems will designated City staff continue to promote participation in annual ORSANCO-sponsored River Sweep I. Brochure. Develop source Appropriate City Complete brochure by Web page should be water protection brochure for staff, Ohio EPA, and June 2013 designed first, so that hand-out at County Fair, other SWCD staff, working brochure can refer to it venues with SWAP planning group J. Web Page. Develop Web design expert Complete web page Possible hosts: City of source water protection web (city or outsourced), by June 2013 Steubenville, Jefferson page, to be hosted on existing working with SWAP County SWCD, ORSANCO site. Will apply for funding planning group … from Ohio Environmental Will need to make Education Fund. arrangements for updates and payments for maintenance. K Storm Drain Marking*. SWCD staff Ongoing. When markers disappear or Notices have been placed on fade, they are replaced. storm drains, advising that the drains go directly to the river. L. Jefferson County Fair. PWS staff Annually, starting Provide SWAP information at August 2013. Jefferson County Fair. M. Arrange for ORSANCO to Designated city staff For August 2013 bring its aquarium display in 2013; possibly seek funding from OEEF and/or local industry N. Marina Signs. Provide PWS operator and By September 2013 Operator will initiate effort; marina signs to cooperating staff appropriate City staff and/or marina owners contractors may design and erect signs. O. ORSANCO GIS Project. Jerry Schulte, other In process ORSANCO will continue to ORSANCO staff pursue development of a GIS project on Ohio River outfalls (see description on page 26) P. Education of School SWCD staff Several workshops Children.* annually Jefferson County SWCD staff run week-long outdoor workshops each year to teach school children about streams and how to protect them. They also conduct trainings at individual schools, on request. 3 Activity Responsible When Comments Party Implemented CONTINGENCY PLANNING Q. Early-warning Network. PWS operator Ongoing Continue participation in ORSANCO early-warning network R. Update Emergency PWS operator Starting with first Contacts. PWS staff will review of the plan in notify EMA of changes in September 2012, and contact staff on at least an annually thereafter annual basis. SOURCE WATER MONITORING S. Raw water sampling. PWS operator Ongoing Continue daily monitoring of raw water T. Storm water outfall SWCD staff Ongoing monitoring*. The Jefferson County SWCD samples storm water outfalls to ensure the discharges are meeting water quality standards. U. ORSANCO’s ODS ORSANCO Ongoing Currently the nearest monitoring network. station upstream is at Samples river water daily for Midland, Pennsylvania, 5 volatile organics miles upstream from East Liverpool. V. ORSANCO TDS Study. ORSANCO December 2011- Monitoring weekly for December 2012 constituents of total dissolved solids W. HABs. Arrange for PWS operator To be decided – not expertise in identifying toxin- for immediate future producing HABs, and for equipment to analyze for toxins *The Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District conducts numerous environmental services for the twelve Jefferson County communities (which include Steubenville and Toronto) that have signed onto the Jefferson County Storm Water Management Plan of 2003. The signatory systems provide an annual fee to the SWCD for these services. 4 Source Water Protection Plan for the Upper Ohio River Public Water Systems Purpose The intent of this document is to summarize strategies that will be pursued by a group of Ohio River public water systems and the communities they serve, to minimize the threats to their source of drinking water—the Ohio River. As of 2012, this group of public water systems includes: • The City of Toronto • The City of Steubenville