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His job: Protect the McKenzie

Karl Morgenstern is getting to know just about every twist and turn of the McKenzie River.

He’s floated the river from top to bottom. He’s flown over it in a helicopter, snapping hundreds of photographs. He’s used a sophisticated computer program to plot the exact coordinates of every major landmark – both natural and man-made. Several times a year during major storms, he takes water samples and tests them for potentially dangerous substances.

As EWEB’s Drinking Water Source Protection coordinator, it’s Karl’s business to know the McKenzie River – and its potential threats.

EWEB hired Karl as its first source protection coordinator in 2001 after a citizens’ advisory committee recommended several actions aimed at protecting the quality of the McKenzie River’s water. The utility’s elected board agreed and funded the program in late 2000.

The McKenzie River is the sole source of drinking water for almost 200,000 Eugene-area residents. Karl is no stranger to the McKenzie, however. Prior to joining EWEB, he worked 10 years for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, much of that time in the Eugene area.

One of Karl’s first tasks was to set up a network of monitoring stations designed to detect any deterioration in water quality in the lower McKenzie above EWEB’s water-intake pipes at Hayden Bridge. Most of the monitoring stations are on tributaries of the McKenzie, such as Cedar Creek, and are near storm pipe outfalls in urban areas. He also relies on water sampling data collected by Thurston High School students.

Several times a year during major storms, Karl ventures out in the rain to gather water samples for testing (Big storms usually account for 80 percent or more of the pollutants entering a river). Although the monitoring data has discovered some low levels of contaminants, such as metals, bacteria or nitrates from fertilizers, the water quality in the McKenzie remains extremely high, he says.

“The quality of the McKenzie River is awesome,” he says. “The general picture is, the McKenzie is pretty darn clean.”

The monitoring should help local governments and EWEB identify potential pollution “hot spots” and then develop strategies for improving the water quality. “We’ll be able to figure out at what point something becomes a problem we need to deal with,” says Karl.

Disaster preparedness is another one of Karl’s key jobs. EWEB has long recognized the potential for contamination of its water supply due to an accident, such as a tanker truck overturning along Highway 126, which parallels the river.

Using aerial photos, global positioning system data and other information, Karl developed a map of the lower McKenzie that pinpoints every potential threat. Working with 27 federal, state, and local agencies (such as fire departments and Lane County), Karl then developed emergency-response plans for specific sections of the river. The plans tell emergency responders exactly what to do in the event of a spill or some other type of contamination, such as where to deploy booms to keep contaminants from spreading downriver.

It is the first river-wide emergency plan developed in the Northwest.

Go to the watershed protection section of the web site to learn more about what EWEB is doing to protect your drinking water.