Drainage Ponds The author of this report has been asked to assess and react to a given scenario. The scenario in question relates to a drainage pool at a manufacturing facility. In this hypothetical scenario, there is a pond that is used as a catch point if there are any spills. Any superficial spills are carried to this pond. As needed, the pond is drained into a nearby stream so as to keep the pond at the proper level. It should be noted that these discharges and the pollution therein is managed and regulated by the state. Unfortunately, there is a very large chemical spill at the plant and there is a threat that the spill will reach the pond and then eventually the groundwater. The author is charged with assessing the damage due to the spillage, offer what remedial measures can be used to address the problem and how to eliminate or at least mitigate threats to the environment.

Analysis

One very important piece of information that has to be taken into account in this situation is how...

If the spilled amount will fit in the pond, then the possibility of damage to the external ecosystem and the groundwater is slim to none since all that really has to be done is that discharges to the pond will have to be stopped. This could very well require the plant to be shut down until the chemicals that cannot be expelled into the river are removed safely. However, that price is a lot lower than what it could be. If there is at least a possibility that the pond will not be able to hold the spill, there could be other measures that might be called for. For example, if the discharge from the pond can be capture by trucks or storage devices of some sort, that might be an option. Not enough information is given about whether that is possible but it would be a great idea for the setup to allow for that to be an option in the event that using the discharge pipe normally would present a problem. The spill could drain to the point as normal and the discharge can be trucked out of the area. Time might not allow for this solution but it is something that could be pulled off…