Construction of two new water storage tanks in SE Eugene to begin soon
After more than a year of research and planning, EWEB is preparing to move forward with the construction of two new water storage tanks on an undeveloped property near E. 40th Ave in southeast Eugene. The 10-acre property was acquired by EWEB in the 1950s as a future water storage site.
Tree removal will begin in early August and earthwork will follow in September. The entire process is expected to take around three years including earthwork, tank construction, and site restoration. The tanks will provide 15 MG of secure, reliable water storage for all of Eugene, and after construction, the remainder of the property (approximately 8 acres) will be re-landscaped and remain open to the public.
Protecting and enhancing habitat
Eugene is a community that cares about trees and the environment.
As part of the planning process, EWEB hired DOWL Environmental Specialists to develop a detailed description of the site so that ecological values can be factored into final tank siting decisions. We also conducted a Triple Bottom Line assessment to evaluate construction options from the perspectives of habitat impacts, costs, and disruption to the site and to neighbors.
The research and planning process has been invaluable to our ability to make a well-informed and sustainable decision for the entire community that we serve.
Although some trees will need to be removed for the construction of the water storage tanks, approximately 75% of the trees will be left standing, including a mature oak woodland on the site. Oak woodlands were once common in the Willamette Valley but are now relatively rare and have been identified by state and local resource protection agencies as priority habitats for protection and restoration.
In February, EWEB worked with volunteers from Friends of Trees to plant 18 native trees on the site, including white and black oaks, valley ponderosa, incense cedar, pacific madrone, and Oregon myrtles – species that are consistent with the oak and prairie-dominated habitat that historically characterized the area.
Habitat restoration work will continue after construction.
This project is critical to our community's drinking water reliability
The E. 40th project is part of a larger water storage improvement effort that also includes replacing the existing tanks at College Hill and Hawkins Hill. Plans allow for siting two smaller tanks rather than one large facility at each location. Transitioning from two large tanks to five or six smaller tanks is part of a distributed water storage strategy to mitigate risk, increase operational flexibility, and enhance water quality.
Our community will depend on the available stored water if an emergency, like a wildfire, earthquake, spill on the McKenzie River, or equipment failure at the filtration plant, were to disrupt supplies.
For more than a decade, EWEB has been working to prepare, replace and maintain our community's water system. We have invested more than $35 million upgrading and expanding our Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant. We are replacing water mains, improving pump stations, building new storage tanks, planning for a second filtration plant on the Willamette River, and developing neighborhood emergency water stations.
As we continue to care for our critical infrastructure, we are also working to protect the source of our drinking water—the McKenzie River and its surrounding watershed, including monitoring for/treating threats to water quality and replanting riparian areas that burned in the Holiday Farm Fire.
