Water Wisdoms E-news
Another Successful Year at
Clean Water University!
This year, nearly 600 5th-grade students from 10 Eugene and Springfield schools participated in Clean Water University ! This annual, 2-day event that offers an assortment of hands-on activities centered around water; specifically drinking water, stormwater and wastewater. Students took a microscopic look at the good bacteria that clean our water, how soil and plants act as a natural filter, what should and shouldn't go down the drain, a tour of the wastewater treatment facility and more!

A total of 10 educational activity booths were hosted by the MWMC in partnership with the Cities of Eugene and Springfield, and our community partners at Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) and Springfield Utility Board (SUB). Visit our Facebook page to see more photos of this incredible event!

Thank you to all the schools who participated this year!
Fall Wastewater Tips
This Saturday, October 26th is National Drug Take Back Day. If you have old or unused medications sitting around, now is the time to gather them up and dispose of them safely. Avoid flushing them down the drain, as this will send them to the wastewater treatment plant and eventually, into our rivers.
For a full list of take back locations in our area, visit the MWMC website , and thanks for doing your part to keep our waterways clean!
With the holidays fast approaching, now is a good time to talk about FOG - fats, oil and grease. When rinsed down the drain, FOG hardens and sticks to pipes which, over time, can block the flow of wastewater and lead to a messy and costly cleanup!

To avoid this issue, scrape food and other solids into the trash. Liquid oil and grease can be poured into a can and let harden before also placing in the trash. Wipe out thin layers of FOG in pots and pans with a paper towel before washing them.

Be sure to keep one of our FOG kits on hand, which includes a scraper and lid (pictured above). You can pick one up in Springfield at City Hall: 225 5th St. or in Eugene at the Wastewater Treatment Plant: 410 River Ave.
Pre-treatment Program Conducts Local Limits Evaluation
The Eugene-Springfield Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF) protects our local health, safety, and environment by providing high quality management of wastewater treatment to our community – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. One way we do this is to set restrictions on what can be discharged to the wastewater system and treatment plant. 

A business or industrial facility that discharges wastewater to the Eugene-Springfield wastewater system may be subject to certain discharge restrictions. These restrictions, or limits, are developed to protect our operations and provide confirmation that businesses and industrial facilities comply with State, Federal and local requirements. Both the Eugene and Springfield Environmental Services Teams use these limits to work with local businesses and industrial facilities to ensure their discharge does not damage the wastewater system, treatment plant, or surrounding environment. 

Recently, the Eugene and Springfield Environmental Services Teams worked together to conduct a technical evaluation of our current local limits. This study evaluated the adequacy of our existing local limits and developed technical justification for either revision or retaining the existing local limits. In general, the findings of the evaluation were that current limits are protective of water quality. The resulting report was submitted to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in September.    
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