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An environmental operator catches a water sample for testing near the refinery's Out-fall Canal.
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Protecting the Water
Wastewater Treatment System
Water used in Chevron Pascagoula Refinery's processes undergoes extensive treatment before being discharged from our Out-fall Canal to the Mississippi Sound.
Oil is removed from the water in oil-water separators and then recycled into the Crude Units. Process water is then routed through several other treatment units, including activated sludge units (bio-reactors) where microorganisms feed on contaminants in the water. The water is tested to ensure it meets or exceeds parameters established by Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency.
More than 90 samples are analyzed daily for control parameters. Unusual test results trigger our unique Alert System, prompting additional testing to find the source and correct it well before wastewater is discharged.
Recognizing the environmental benefits of our wastewater treatment Alert System, the Izaak Walton League of America, the renowned conservation organization, awarded the
refinery the Industrial Clean Water Award in 1986. The system was also cited among our environmental initiatives in 1991, when Chevron won the U.S. Department of Interior’s CARE Award.
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Pascagoula Refinery process units are seen on the horizon from salt water marshes located on Chevron's 3,000-acre property in Jackson County.
(Photo by Stephen Kirkpatrick)
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Water from other
refinery processes, including sour water, steam condensate, and cooling water, is recovered, treated, and reused, thus reducing the amount of water the
refinery draws from the Pascagoula River. (See "Water Source" in Conserving Our Natural Resources.)
Rainwater & Groundwater
In 1991 we spent more than $20 million on a rainwater segregation system that improves groundwater protection by eliminating use of earthen ditches, and provides more intense treatment of rainwater that falls on our process units. This rainwater is now routed through pipes and tanks, rather than through earthen ditches, to our Wastewater Treatment System.
To ensure groundwater protection, we routinely monitor 12 wells located around the
refinery and report these results to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. We also routinely monitor drinking water from our wells and report the findings to the Mississippi Department of Health.
We welcome comments and questions about our environmental record and policy. Contact us by e-mail at pasms@chevron.com.
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