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 Donald 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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Dear East 40th Neighbors,

As we begin construction, we want to assure you of the extra precautions we are taking related to fire risk.

While there are no tree removal restrictions within the Eugene Urban Growth Boundary per City fire code, EWEB will adhere to the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) restrictions and is taking other proactive risk mitigation measures.

The contractors will strictly adhere to the IFPL work schedule (no fire-risk activity after 1 p.m.), continuously monitor conditions throughout the day, and adjust work and mitigation strategies accordingly.

Additionally:

A new hydrant was installed at the west entrance of the property. This gives the contractor a path to install a fire hose across the site to have water available throughout construction.
The contractor will have two water trucks onsite, one dedicated for fire mitigation and one for dust mitigation.
The contractor is removing the vegetation around the work zone down to the bare ground and installing rock up to the tree line. This reduces fire risk and helps with dust mitigation.
A minimum 3-hour fire watch will be provided by the contractor after work stops for the day. Additionally, EWEB will have 24/7 security at the site who will be able to call 911 and EWEB’s security lead if they see anything concerning after fire-watch.
EWEB has been communicating with the Eugene Fire Department regarding schedule and mitigation plans. They are aware of the work and the work schedule and will be ready to respond if an issue should arise, as well as to consult with us if a red flag warning goes into effect in the area.

Reminders regarding other construction impacts

Workers, trucks, and equipment will generally begin arriving on-site around 7 a.m. Construction noise from chain saws and other tree removal equipment will be mostly limited to the hours of 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. per the IFPL work restrictions during this phase of work.

Truck noise such as beeping is not easily mitigated as that is an OSHA-required safety feature and needs to be loud enough for someone to hear while wearing hearing protection. When possible, trucks will be routed around the site to avoid the need to back up.

Hauling will be being done in phases rather than continuously throughout the work. Hauling times will be limited to the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The logs will be hauled offsite via Patterson St, to E. 40th and then down Hilyard St.

During hauling, EWEB is prohibiting on street parking to allow for two-way traffic and allow access by neighbors. Safety was reiterated during the preconstruction meeting with the contractor, and an additional meeting will take place with the truck drivers the first day they are on-site to discuss safety and caution, particularly near Tugman Park.

Safety is priority #1. While we can’t anticipate or mitigate all impacts, we will be responsive to your questions or concerns. Please reach out to us directly so that we can quickly address any issues that arise by email at water.storage@eweb.org or by phone at 541-685-7899.

Click here for a larger view of the Project Phases & Timeline.

Plans for next neighbor meeting and construction mitigation

We will host another neighbor meeting in late summer (date TBD) to discuss construction details and mitigation for the excavation phase of the project, including:

Work hours and workdays
Noisy work time
Construction schedule
Construction mitigation
Dust
Noise
Contractor staging and parking
Traffic control on Patterson
Controlled drilling and blasting process and safety procedures
What to do if there are issues

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