Modeling the Fate and Transport of a Chemical Spill in the Elk River, West Virginia

On January 9, 2014, an estimated 37,854 L (10,000 gal.) of 4-methycyclohexane methanol (MCHM) and propylene glycol phenyl ether, solvents used in coal processing, leaked from a ruptured container into the Elk River. The spill, just 1.61 km (1 mi) upstream from a water-treatment plant, forced officials to ban residents and businesses in nine West Virginia counties from using the water for anything other than flushing toilets or fighting fires. An estimated 300,000 West Virginia residents were affected by the spill. This paper reports on the modeling efforts undertaken to forecast time of travel and concentration of MCHM as the plume traveled downstream toward the Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) intake. The issues addressed include the flow regime, source term describing the spill event, use of real-time and forecast streamflow, and comparison of model results with observations at Charleston (West Virginia), Huntington (West Virginia), and the GCWW intake. The incident-command tool for drinking-water protection (ICWater) was used to model time of travel and concentration of MCHM. Downstream tracing was initiated at the spill site to forecast the location of the leading edge, peak concentration, and trailing edge of the plume for drinking-water intakes as far downstream as 402 km (250 mi). (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.