
Electric Outage: 1-844-484-2300
Water Emergency: 541-685-7595
EWEB Main: 541-685-7000
EWEB will continue the annual closure of our College Hill Reservoir over the Fourth of July holiday and prohibit fireworks on the property grounds.
Find Out MoreOn June 18, with the help of community neighbors, EWEB inaugurated a new emergency water station at the Lane County Fairgrounds.
Find Out MoreThe tour focused on the coordinated response to the Holiday Farm Fire, emphasizing the effectiveness of large-scale floodplain enhancement projects for mitigating the impacts of sedimentation and increasing water temperatures.
Find Out MoreEWEB exceeded drinking water safety standards in 2021 for every type of contaminant regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Oregon Health Authority. The utility has never failed to meet the standards.
Find Out MoreAs a public utility, it is important EWEB check in with customers to see how we are performing. We invite you to share your feedback and opinions.
Find Out MoreAs a public utility, owned by the people of Eugene, it’s important for us to be open and transparent with our customer-owners. The following State of the Utility Address, delivered by General Manager Frank Lawson at the March 1 EWEB Board meeting, highlights key events, accomplishments and challenges of 2021.
Find Out MoreEugene’s drinking water received an outstanding performance rating from the Oregon Health Authority.
Find Out MoreEWEB Leads "Spill Drill" to test HazMat Response
Find Out MoreHave you ever thought about where your drinking water comes from? What about where your wastewater goes?
Find Out MoreEWEB helps fund floodplain restoration project
Find Out MoreThe security of the community's water supply is tied directly to the health of the McKenzie Watershed and EWEB is investing in the long-term health and quality of life for residents for generations to come.
Find Out MoreA year after the Holiday Farm Fire, EWEB and the Pure Water Partners are working with landowners in the burn zone to restore riparian forests and mitigate future fires.
Find Out MoreAs climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, Eugene Water & Electric Board is serious about making the necessary investments to ensure we can provide safe and reliable water and electricity.
Find Out MoreEWEB will continue the annual closure of our College Hill Reservoir over the Fourth of July holiday and prohibit fireworks on the property grounds.
Find Out MoreIn the McKenzie River Basin, we can actually count on years of stored water supply - thanks to the McKenzie’s unique geology.
Find Out MoreClean water starts at the source
For decades, we have worked to protect the McKenzie River, our primary water source. The river emerges from Clear Lake, high in the Cascade Mountains, before flowing 85 miles to Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant, where we draw water from the river.
We employ a multi-faceted approach to protecting the river, which includes multiple monitoring sites throughout the McKenzie River watershed and at Cougar and Blue River reservoirs.
But monitoring alone isn't enough to guarantee clean, healthy water at the tap, especially with cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) become more common in the reservoirs. We have recently made some changes to our filtration and treatment protocols to prevent cyanotoxins that are harmful to humans and pets from getting into the drinking water delivered to homes and businesses.
Source protection continues
Our staff work aggressively to protect this outstanding source for current and future generations, and we have been proactive in addressing threats, including cyanoHABs. Some species of cyanobacteria produce cyanotoxins.
In July 2018, in response to problems found in some Oregon watersheds, the Oregon Health Authority began regulating drinking water for the cyanotoxins microcystin and cylindrospermopsin. EWEB has performed all required monitoring and has not detected cyanotoxins at the filtration plant's water intake. Read more about cyanotoxins.
Observation and vigilance in place
Recent climate change research in the Pacific Northwest shows that with higher temperatures, earlier snow melt, and longer, drier summers, the McKenzie Watershed and surrounding areas will experience more abundant cyanoHABs that will start earlier in the spring and last longer into the fall.
Climate change impacts are already causing increased wildfires, which can increase nutrients in reservoirs, fueling cyanoHAB production. We are studying the impacts of the recent Rebel (2018) and Terwilliger (2019) wildfires on Cougar Reservoir with Oregon State University. We also partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey to install real-time water quality sensors below Cougar Reservoir, Blue River Reservoir, in the McKenzie River, and at the filtration plant water intake to measure blue green algae activity (and other water quality parameters) as an early warning system.
EWEB maintains a close partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Cougar and Blue River reservoirs, where cyanoHABs occur. EWEB, the USGS, and the Corps partnered to add a real-time water quality sensor in Cougar Reservoir in 2020. It measures blue green algae activity at multiple depths to direct sample collection efforts and can guide Army Corps reservoir operations to reduce downstream impacts to drinking water.
To ensure proactive monitoring and decision-making, our expert staff continues to build on the source water protection, monitoring and treatment programs.
Treatment and filtration tactics
The most important line of defense to prevent cyanotoxins from entering Eugene's drinking water supply is the filtration plant, where staff monitor the early warning systems and react with appropriate treatment changes to mitigate for cyanotoxins.
Our Water Quality Lab recently added analytical equipment capable of quickly and accurately assessing the presence of cyanotoxins at low levels, and at much reduced cost compared with shipping to out-of-state laboratories. This allows us to make rapid decisions about monitoring and water treatment strategies to mitigate any impacts to drinking water.
In addition, the filtration plant was converted to biological filtration in 2018 and this has demonstrated effectiveness in removing cyanotoxins. If cyanotoxins reach the filtration plant water intake, the biologically active filters can "eat" the toxins as a food source, effectively removing them as the water flows through the filters. We can also utilize activated carbon and chlorination as effective means to treat cyanotoxins.
4200 Roosevelt Blvd.
Eugene, OR 97402
800-841-5871
541-685-7000
Open Monday-Friday
Phone hours: 9 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.