
Electric Outage: 1-844-484-2300
Water Emergency: 541-685-7595
EWEB Main: 541-685-7000
In January, our elected Board of Commissioners approved an agreement for EWEB to make an unprecedented bulk purchase of substation transformers.
Find Out MoreThe Eugene City Council approved the purchase of EWEB's former riverfront headquarters property at a meeting on Jan. 30. The terms of the deal state that the City of Eugene will purchase the 4.4-acre property, which includes two buildings and parking lots, for $12 million.
Find Out MoreAn EWEB-supported program provides firewood for people affected by the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire. The McKenzie Firewood program was developed by Pure Water Partners (PWP) in 2021.
Find Out MoreAt EWEB, we do what we can to help others in need. That’s been the reality for several of our electric and water crews over the past few weeks as we’ve responded to mutual aid requests for storm response and drinking water restoration, locally, and out of state.
Find Out MoreAfter evaluating several proposals and opportunities, EWEB is focusing its negotiations to sell the former riverfront headquarters property to the City of Eugene. The exact terms and details of the deal will be negotiated during the next few weeks.
Find Out MoreDespite an ice storm and a few windstorms in Eugene and the McKenzie Valley in the past few weeks, EWEB has so far fended off widespread weather-caused power outages – largely because of investments in year-round system maintenance and infrastructure improvements.
Find Out MoreEWEB makes electric mobility available to anyhone though e-bike rebates, car sharing and grants for local organizations with electric mobility projects.
Find Out MoreThe EWEB Board of Commissioners started off their first meeting of 2023 by choosing a new board president and vice president.
Find Out MoreCommissioners unanimously voted to approve a Record of Decision endorsing the General Manager's Recommendation to decommission the Leaburg Hydroelectric Project and approved Resolution 2302 directing the GM to develop a Leaburg Hydroelectric Project Decommissioning Action Plan
Find Out MoreIn response to a call for aid this week, EWEB’s water division jumped into action to assist the town of Mapleton after a leak in their water system left about 260 homes without running water.
Find Out MoreEWEB is developing a plan to ensure that Eugene has a sufficient supply of reliable, affordable and clean electricity in the decades ahead, and is inviting the community to participate in the process.
Find Out MoreEWEB has joined 10 other Western utilities are to help ensure clean energy resources will be adequate to serve the growing demand in the region, while also managing costs and maintaining reliability for customers.
Find Out MoreFor their final meeting of 2022, on Dec. 6, the EWEB Board of Commissioners grappled with some major decisions and looked ahead to a new year.
Find Out MoreCommissioners supportive of General Manager's recommendation to remove Leaburg Dam
Find Out MoreIn the years ahead, EWEB will have to make a lot of decisions about where to get the electricity that we deliver to customers.
Find Out MoreOctober 22, 2021
As part of our routine monitoring efforts, EWEB conducted a bathymetric survey of Trail Bridge Reservoir in May 2021. The reservoir is one of three that make up our Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric Project located about 70 miles east of Eugene off of Highway 126 near the headwaters of the McKenzie River.
The results of the survey, which is essentially a map of the topographic features of the reservoir bottom, indicated three "depressions" that required further investigation. One of the depressions was apparent during re-examination of a similar survey performed in 2010.
EWEB conducted follow-up inspections with a remotely operated underwater vehicle along with dye testing by divers in early June 2021. Based on the dye tests, the two larger depressions are actively taking water and are considered sinkholes. Subsequent dye testing and geophysical investigations in July and August indicated that there is no concentrated seepage flow through or under Trail Bridge Dam.
Public safety is EWEB's top priority, and staff are working diligently to manage the safety risk to the public downstream of the dam while actively investigating sinkhole conditions and cause. EWEB's Dam Safety team, along with Generation Operations and Engineering, have been working closely with experienced consultants and the Division of Dam Inspection and Safety of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to address the issue and develop a risk mitigation plan.
We have implemented several risk-reduction measures to date, including lowering the Trail Bridge Reservoir level approximately 7 feet below the normal operational elevation, increasing monitoring and surveillance at the dam and downstream, and ensuring effective notification and communication with Emergency Action Plan (EAP) partners.
The decision to lower the reservoir level was made out of an abundance of caution.
EWEB has multiple monitoring devices in place to detect anomalies or any unexpected changes. These include stream flow gauges, reservoir level sensors, groundwater level sensors, turbidity monitoring sensors, remote video cameras with night vision capability and seepage weirs at the toe of Trail Bridge Dam.
"Based on our understanding and the data we have gathered so far, the risk of a catastrophic dam failure is low," said Daniel Huang, EWEB's Chief Dam Safety Engineer. "We will continue our investigation and evaluation, and that could take a year or longer."
Carmen-Smith duty operators conduct daily inspections of the dam, and can further lower the reservoir if any anomalies are detected visually or by the monitoring equipment.
There are plans in place to notify the public, public safety agencies and the U.S. Forest Service should the situation change. There is also a siren at Olallie Campground, downstream of the dam, that EWEB staff can activate should the status of the dam change. The campground was closed in August for the remainder of 2021 due to its close proximity to the Knoll Fire.
The steps EWEB has taken with the increased monitoring and lowering the reservoir level by 7 feet reduce the likelihood of a dam failure. Staff, including engineers, are confident they can quickly intervene if anomalies are detected, which further lowers the likelihood of dam failure.
We will continue to monitor and assess the sinkholes to determine the cause and potential remedies.
Anyone with questions or concerns can contact Joe Harwood at joe.harwood@eweb.org.
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Mailing Address: 4200 Roosevelt Blvd., Eugene, OR 97402
Phone: 541-685-7000
Toll free: 800-841-5871
Email: eweb.answers@eweb.org
Customer service phone hours: 9 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Monday - Friday