Board Members present: Susie Smith, Dorothy Anderson, Peter Bartel, Sandra Bishop, and Mike Dyer.
Others present: Randy Berggren, General Manager; Tom Buckhouse, Mel Damewood, Kris Evonuk, Cathy Hamilton, Dick Helgeson, Roseanna McArthur, John Mitchell, Jim Origliosso, Brenda Sirois, Dick Varner, Ron Wilson, and Lamonte Smith of the EWEB staff; a member of the public; and Daniel Lindstrom, Minutes Recorder.
President Smith called the Work Session of the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) to order at 5:40 p.m.
General Manager Randy Berggren stated that the purpose of the Work Session was to inform Commissioners about the status of key Water Supply Plan projects.
Water Division Director Dick Helgeson described presentations to be made by staff. He said Environmental Manager Laurie Power was unable to be present. He referred to summaries of ten Water Supply Plan projects attached to his memorandum dated April 29 distributed with the agenda of the meeting. He stated that all projects were under way and scheduled for completion in 1999. He said staff was prepared to discuss the projects and asked Commissioners to confirm that progress was consistent with the Water Supply Plan.
Water Resource Planner Brenda Sirois stated that the Water Supply Plan called for an evaluation of the feasibility of a deep aquifer well field in the north Eugene area near the confluence of the McKenzie River and Willamette River. She said the study was to be conducted by Golder Associates and would consist of two phases in 1999.
Ms. Sirois displayed a land-use designation map of the study area. She pointed out segments of the area in which water wells were prohibited and segments where they were permitted.
Ms. Sirois stated that Phase I of the study was collecting, compiling, and evaluating information about land use designations, water quantity and quality, and hydro-geology of the area. She said geophysical measurements were being made at 26 sites, and that information was gathered from well log records, water rights filings with the State of Oregon, published reports of the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from Coburg and Springfield which use groundwater in their municipal systems. She said a decision about whether to proceed with Phase II of the study was made.
Ms. Sirois explained that Phase II of the study would include drilling tests, borings to a depth of 400 feet completed by June/July; calibrating a ground water flow model completed by July/August; and preparing a report, which would include results, interpretations, cost estimates, permit requirements, and a work plan completed by September/October.
Commissioner Bartel suggested that EWEB take advantage of the Land Use Code Update process underway in the City of Eugene by identifying areas where zoning changes would be advantageous. Ms. Sirois replied that currently existing zoning districts did not present a fatal flaw to the development of ground water.
Ms. Sirois displayed maps of the geophysical characteristics of the study area. She described the likely presence of groundwater in the various geological materials. She said it appeared significant ground water sources were available at levels below 200 feet and that wells dug to such depths would have the least impact on other wells in the area. She described the apparent locations of subsurface ancestral river channels and explained that they would likely provide the greatest volumes of ground water.
Ms. Sirois stated that data collected in Phase I of the Feasibility Study appeared to indicate there were no compromising water quality issues associated with the deep aquifer in the study area.
President Smith asked if arsenic was present in the water of the study area. Ms. Sirois replied that existing data did not indicate arsenic was a problem but that testing would take place in Phase II.
Ms. Sirois stated that negotiations had begun with drilling firms and property owners to drill two test borings. She said locations identified for the borings were on a golf course and on property owned by a church. She described drilling and collection of water and soil samples and performance of pump tests.
Ms. Sirois distributed copies of a document entitled "Eugene Water & Electric Board's Groundwater Feasibility Study &endash; Project Overview."
Commissioner Bartel asked what drilling of the test borings would cost. Ms. Sirois replied that if the test boring would be filled and unused following completion of Phase II of the study, they would cost less than the $46,000 budgeted for that phase of the project. She said that if the test borings were completed with ground water monitoring wells then the cost would be about $50,000.
Mr. Helgeson asked when it would be appropriate to make another report to the Board regarding the Groundwater Feasibility Study. Ms. Sirois replied that significant progress could be reported in July. Mr. Berggren stated that he would seek to find appropriate agenda time for such a report.
Senior Water Engineer Ron Wilson stated that the Water Supply Plan included a Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant Expansion Plan. He said the plan included areservoir and pump station addition and a 24 million gallons per day of plant expansion. He said the optimization and expansion projects were interdependent and that the plant needed to remain in operation during construction. He said the Filtration Plant is aging, requires some upgrading, and needs to be designed as a lifeline resource.
Mr. Wilson referred to a report summarizing load ratings and inspection of the Hayden Bridge Filtration Plant performed by OBEC Consulting Engineers. He said the report describes the fifty-year-old plant to be in good condition with some exceptions. He said the report identified some structural elements of the plant that don't meet current seismic standards.
Mr. Wilson referred to a report summarizing a geo-technical investigation of the Hayden Bridge Filtration Plant site performed by AGI Technologies. He said the report supports the feasibility of constructing a 10,000,000 gallon reservoir, that excavation of the area was possible, and that the site was seismically appropriate for water storage. He said size costing studies were underway. He described potential construction methods and explained how excavated material would be kept on site and landscaped on completion of the project, greatly reducing impacts on nearby areas.
Mr. Wilson referred to a technical memorandum describing an analysis of expanding the capacity of the Hayden Bridge Filtration Plant performed by Black & Veatch. He said the report reviewed existing treatment strategies, looked at available new technology, and forecast future regulations. He said existing treatment was judged to work well, but that future regulations could require additional treatment technologies. He described potential changes in regulations and possible treatment strategies.
Mr. Wilson stated that plans for expansion of the Hayden Bridge Filtration Plant were being developed which would be implemented incrementally, allow flexibility for future treatment changes, be compatible with operational requirements, and be efficient and cost effective. He said major components of the plan would be to expand reservoir and pump station capacity and increase settling basin and filter efficiency and capacity. Plan details and costs will be available this summer.
Commissioner Bartel asked if there would be any risks involved with construction on the Filtration Plant site. Mr. Wilson replied that risks would be avoided in every possible way.
Mr. Wilson described the Water System Transmission Main System and the need for a new main to be installed from the EWEB Headquarters area to 7th Place and Seneca Road. He explained that growing demands in the service area are making it difficult to get water to the west side of the system. The new transmission main will better distribute flows across the system and increase distribution capacity over 33 percent. A 42-inch diameter main is recommended for existing and future growth.
Mr. Wilson described the proposed routes for the main. Preliminary evaluations on the portion of the route from the Headquarters area to 8th Avenue and Monroe Street have been completed. The remaining routes are under investigation. Route and design issues were identified. Construction is expected to begin early next year.
Commissioner Bartel asked for an explanation of the Conservation Plan Policy/Guidelines Water Plan Initiative described in Work Session background material prepared by Mr. Helgeson.
Mr. Helgeson said that the initiative identified by Commissioner Bartel would be development of policies and procedures for large commercial/industrial Water Conservation Plans. He said recommendations would be prepared by staff and submitted to the Board for review and approval.
President Smith complimented staff on an excellent report.
The work session adjourned at 7:30 p.m.