Related News
Related News
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Sustainability Snapshot - Homes for Good May 2025
Our first Sustainability Snapshop highlights a project where EWEB teamed up with longtime partner, Homes for Good, to deliver ductless heat pumps to income-eligible apartment rentals.
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EWEB environmental specialist wins prestigious awards for publication
Article recounting EWEB’s efforts to protect the McKenzie River after Holiday Farm Fire earns national recognition
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Last Call for EWEB/Lane County Septic Grants
Holiday Farm Fire recovery program now eligible for businesses, residential property owners who purchased post-fire, to cover inspection costs and new construction
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EWEB, Lane County host open house to gather feedback for “Leaburg Transportation Alternatives Analysis”
“What is the Future of the Leaburg Dam Bridge?” open house exhibit on display at Lloyd Knox Park Visitor Pavilion through July 25
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EWEB Pilots New Line Safety Program for 4th graders.
This year, EWEB is ramping up power line safety for children, specifically 4th graders.
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Improving habitat resiliency throughout the Upper McKenzie
Environmental Responsibility is a core guiding value for EWEB decision-making. This summer, EWEB continues its commitment to environmental stewardship with a robust slate of habitat enhancement updates throughout the upper McKenzie River, across the footprint of the Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric Project.
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Habitat Restoration Underway on McKenzie River
Partners at EWEB, McKenzie River Trust, the McKenzie Watershed Council, and the U.S. Forest Service broke ground on a major floodplain restoration project in Quartz Creek.
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Infrastructure upgrades at Nightingale Hosted Shelters made possible through powerful public-nonprofit partnership
Nightingale Hosted Shelters, EWEB, and the City of Eugene celebrate infrastructure milestone
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Hayden Bridge celebrates 75 years of service as EWEB looks forward to a new era of water resiliency
EWEB Water Treatment Supervisor, Toby Dixon, looks back at how the Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant has changed over the years and explains what EWEB is doing to secure a more resilient water future.
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EWEB opens applications for 2025 Electric Mobility Community Grant
The Eugene Water & Electric Board is now accepting applications for the 2025 Electric Mobility Grant, reinforcing EWEB's commitment to sustainability and cleaner transportation.
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Walterville Hydroelectric Project to remain offline through 2025
EWEB continues to pursue repair plans but must fulfill additional investigation requirements before resuming operation.
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Watch the Recording: Financial Preparedness for Disasters
How will you financially recover after a disaster? This seminar gives key insights into preparing your finances ahead of time.
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Greenpower subscribers vote to award Greenpower Grant to SquareOne Villages
The Greenpower Grant, funded solely by voluntary customer subscriptions, supports local sustainability projects.
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Water professionals showcase skills in Cascade to Coast Competition
Representatives from local utilities competed to see who has the best-testing water, who can assemble a water meter the fastest and who find the most creative way to solve a routine problem that water utility professionals often face.
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Small number of McKenzie Valley EWEB customers face higher February bills due to estimated reads
EWEB under-estimated energy usage for about one-fifth of upriver customers in December or January, resulting in higher true-up bills in February.
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Women in STEM: Meet the water quality specialist who ensures the safety of Eugene's drinking water
July 20, 2023 • Molly Babcock, EWEB Communications
High up in the Cascade Mountains, a spring feeds Clear Lake. Porous volcanic rocks filter groundwater before it enters the lake, from which it proceeds into the McKenzie River. The river flows 85 miles before it reaches the Hayden Bridge Water Treatment Plant, where Brenda Casarez started her career at EWEB in 2009.
Since then, Casarez has worked her way up to senior water quality specialist. Her team collects samples from all over the water system, including over 100 sampling stations throughout Eugene. Water samples are tested for different contaminants depending on location and timing.
EWEB’s current monitoring plan consists of over 300 contaminants, with multiple collections each year. Casarez reports test results to the Oregon Health Authority, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EWEB customers. Casarez also stays educated about new regulations and best practices to stay ahead of testing requirements.
Casarez’s work, EWEB’s filtration process and robust watershed protection measures have all contributed to ensuring EWEB’s water is some of the cleanest in the world.
“Water matters to everybody, and we need to send out a product that is safe and tastes as good as we can make it,” she said. “Any drop of water that leaves our treatment plant could be the drop that is making a baby's formula.”
Casarez has come a long way, but her path wasn’t always clear.
“By high school, I knew that I wanted to do something in the sciences,” she said.
She graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor’s of General Sciences in 1992. After school, Casarez worked at a local laboratory and environmental consulting firm for 17 years.
“I started in the laboratory running the lab certification program and then transitioned to consulting on regulatory issues for smaller Oregon Public Water Systems,” Casarez said.
Casarez could not be happier with her current position. “EWEB has been an innovative place to work, filled with the most forward-thinking and supportive coworkers,” Casarez said. “There are many projects on the horizon, and Water Operations is ready to tackle them all.”
Working in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, or math) field, Casarez found that building trust with clients and coworkers was very important.
“As with any job, being knowledgeable and following through on commitments is crucial,” Casarez said.
Casarez would advise that aspiring scientists get their degrees and explore the water and utility fields. Water is a critical resource, but the industry is facing growing issues in supply and contamination. There is a great need for bright minds and new ideas.