Related News
Related News
-
The Big Freeze 2024: After Action Report
Winter 2024 was one for the records books, and we'll look back on it for years to come and say, "That was a doozy!" The back-to-back January Ice Storms caused widespread damage to EWEB’s service territory, affecting approximately 38,000 customers. Preliminary repair costs were over $8 million, and additional repairs to transmission lines are still required.
Find Out More -
Fixing the Unseen: Water Pipeline Replacement in Unincorporated Eugene
Learn more about EWEB's methods for monitoring and replacing aged water pipelines.
Find Out More -
New tanks come online as EWEB modernizes water system
New drinking water storage tanks are one of several investments to ensure that EWEB can meet critical community needs in the event of an earthquake.
Find Out More -
Spring Cleaning? How about Spring Emergency Preparedness!
Spring is officially here and that means the plants are blooming, the sun is (sometimes) shining, and the grass is green! We've had our fair share of severe weather already, but spring weather is notoriously unpredictable. While you're in the midst of spring cleaning and garden care, consider completing these emergency preparedness tasks.
Find Out More -
State of the McKenzie Watershed
EWEB’s Drinking Water Source Protection (DWSP) team says the McKenzie River continues to be an excellent source for drinking water.
Find Out More -
Nine days without power: My ice storm story as an EWEB customer and employee
While beautiful and peaceful, buying a home on the edge of the forest and surrounded by trees has its tradeoffs. Moving “upriver,” I knew there would be more threats to prepare for, including Mother Nature’s seasonal surprises.
Find Out More -
Preparation and Resilience: How EWEB Maintained Water Service During Recent Ice Storm
Learn about the projects and people that helped EWEB keep water flowing throughout the extreme weather event.
Find Out More -
EWEB crews focusing on restoring electric service for Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant
With more ice forecasted for Tuesday, all EWEB crews are in the field assessing outages and restoring power.
Find Out More -
Start the New Year saving money with energy saving tips
We know that saving money is important to our customers. Using energy and water wisely is a great way to reduce your monthly utility bill, even as the costs of electricity and water rise. EWEB has several steps you can take to reduce your usage and even make your home feel more comfortable.
Find Out More -
Let's talk turkey. If a disaster strikes, is your family ready?
Many of us avoid discussing politics over the dinner table in the spirit of family peace and harmony. But here's a topic that can bring everyone together: emergency preparedness.
Find Out More -
Your EWEB Rates at Work: Investing Today for a Resilient Tomorrow
For more than a century, EWEB has planned, built, and maintained the systems that deliver safe, reliable, and environmentally responsible power and water to Eugene homes and businesses.
Find Out More -
Have an energy efficient and water conscious holiday season
The holiday season is officially upon us. Whether you are celebrating a special holiday or just sharing a meal with close friends and family, hosting can cause some unexpected energy and water usage increases – resulting in a higher utility bill. We’ve prepared some tips on how you can save energy and water this holiday season.
Find Out More -
Tips to Prepare Your Pipes for Freezing Weather
The cold has arrived - here are tips to protect your pipes from freezing.
Find Out More -
EWEB’s water infrastructure projects designed for reliability during major disasters
As communities nationwide Imagine a Day Without Water, EWEB strives to ensure such a day never happens.
Find Out More -
Fall is the perfect time to prepare for winter storm season
Winter is coming, which increases the likelihood of storm-related power outages. It's important to be prepared, and there are simple actions you can take right now.
Find Out More - Show More
Second Source Work Underway
January 20, 2017
Everyday, Eugene residents turn on their taps to draw clean and delicious drinking water. Water is indispensable at homes, vital to public safety and crucial to our local economy.
EWEB relies on the beautiful McKenzie River as its sole source of water, and the Hayden Bridge Filtration Plant to deliver safe drinking water nearly 200,000 area residents. But there are just a few days of water available if a natural or human-caused disaster disrupts our supply or filtration plant operations. That is why work is underway to tap into a secondary source of water and build a small, modern filtration plant on the Upper Willamette River.
Commitment to quality
The new intake site, purchased in 2015, is located below the confluence of the Coast and Middle Forks of the Willamette River. Just upstream, thousands of acres of land are managed for natural habitat and recreation by The Nature Conservancy, Friends of Buford Park and others. Completed and ongoing restoration work has direct benefits to water quality, making great water even better for all that depend on a healthy river.
The new filtration plant, which will be located west of the intake site, will use modern technology to ensure that drinking water quality is the same, or better, than what is delivered from Hayden Bridge today. EWEB will continue to rely on the McKenzie River as its primary source of drinking water due to the larger plant capacity and available water rights. However, building a second, smaller treatment plant on the Willamette provides for resilient operations should a natural or other disaster strike our community.
Preliminary design work is underway on the filtration plant, and that work will continue through 2018. EWEB plans to begin construction of the new facility in 2019, and have it operational in 2022.
Ensuring an affordable and reliable water supply
A diverse water supply is the biggest step in improving water system reliability in case of an emergency. Seismic upgrades to critical facilities like reservoirs and pump stations are also planned. EWEB a few years ago created a special reserve fund to help pay for this community investment. Careful financial planning to balance water reliability projects and affordability is a priority so that over time, we are better prepared for the unexpected, and resilient to challenges that come our way.