E. 40th Water Storage Update

Water Storage Improvement Projects

Access to clean water is vital to our community.

EWEB is hard at work making sure safe, reliable water continues to flow even as critical infrastructure ages and new challenges arise. In the next decade, we plan to construct new water storage facilities near 40th Ave. and Patterson St. and replace the water storage systems at EWEB's College Hill and Hawkins Hill sites. The projects will be built to seismic and contemporary operating standards, providing more than 40 million gallons of resilient, safe water storage.

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Jan. 25, 2022

Dear East 40th Neighbors,

Following is a brief update on what has been happening at the project site.

Crews are continuing to remove and haul the rock that was blasted for Tank 1. Blasting was completed in late-December, several months ahead of schedule. Hauling will continue for the next few months, resulting in continued high truck traffic and excavation noise.
Plastic sheeting was installed on the south side of Tank 2 in an attempt to control erosion of the exposed slope and to keep workers safe. If the plastic sheeting is not successful, we may need to implement additional measures such as wire mesh and/or shotcrete (sprayed-on concrete).
Survey work was completed for the new pipeline. The 36-inch water transmission main will be constructed between West Amazon St. and the intersection of East 40th Ave. and Patterson St. To minimize costs and traffic impacts, the pipeline work will be timed to coincide with planned City of Eugene street repairs.
Three viewing benches have been installed--two on the west side and one on the east side of the site. The benches provide a safe spot for members of the public to observe construction and learn more about the infrastructure that allows all of Eugene to enjoy safe, reliable drinking water.

EWEB water rated "Outstanding"

Eugene’s drinking water received an "Outstanding” performance rating from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).

To qualify for this rating, OHA conducted a comprehensive on-site review of EWEB’s drinking water source, treatment and storage facilities, distribution system, operation and maintenance procedures, and monitoring program to evaluate our system's capability of providing safe water to the people of Eugene.

OHA described EWEB's water system facilities as, "well operated and maintained by knowledgeable and competent staff."

Although OHA has identified contamination concerns from leaking roof joints at the College Hill Reservoir,

the agency noted that College Hill was not considered a "deficiency" in the review because EWEB has started taking steps to replace the 80-year-old facility by constructing replacement storage at the E. 40th site. Building 15 million gallons of storage at E. 40th makes it possible to first decommission, then replace, the vulnerable College Hill facilities.

Most public water systems are reviewed by the OHA every three years, but EWEB’s next review won’t occur until 2026 thanks to our high performance.

If you have questions or input, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the project team at

541-685-7899 or water.storage@eweb.org. Emails sent to this address will reach:

Laura Farthing, Project Manager/Senior Civil Engineer
Jen Connors, Communications Supervisor
Jeannine Parisi, Customer Relationship Manager
Wally McCullough, Water Engineering Supervisor