The Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority will be hosting a special emergency drill next Thursday, October 19, at its wastewater treatment center on Return Church Road.
“We want people in the community to know that if they see a large number of emergency vehicles and personnel at our site that is part of a drill we are performing,” said Allison McCullough, the OJRSA’a Regulatory Services Coordinator. “These drills are extremely important for us because the help us prepare and find ways to better serve the community.
The drill will focus on a potential chlorine gas leak at the Coneross Creek Wastewater Treatment facility, and what agency officials, along with numerous area emergency management representatives, should do to prevent the leak from spreading while safely evacuating employees from the site. The event will run from roughly 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Chlorine is a highly used chemical in industry and society, and exposure to toxic levels of it is generally accidental. It is considered a very dangerous gas when exposed and has a history in South Carolina.
“What we will be doing Thursday evening is completely safe and we want to stress that to the community,” McCullough said. “The goal is to help us and our partners prepare and be ready if an emergency such as this actually does arise.”
About the Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority:
The Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority (OJRSA) is a governmental agency providing wastewater treatment service to the cities of Seneca, Walhalla, Westminster, the town of West Union and their surrounding areas. Learn more at www.ojrsa.org.
