OREGON: MCKENZIE RIVER WATERSHED
The Eugene Water & Electric Board's Comprehensive
Drinking Water Source Protection Program
Background
The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) was formed in 1911 as a publicly-owned
utility to provide reliable and safe drinking water to the City of Eugene. Since this time,
EWEB has come to rely on the McKenzie River watershed for power generation from its
electric facilities at Carmen-Smith, Leaburg, and Walterville and as a sole source of
drinking water for the City of Eugene. EWEB maintains an infrastructure in the
McKenzie River watershed that consists of dams, canals, lakes, power generation
facilities, tunnels, roads, buildings, electric transmission lines, dikes, fences, and
transformer substations. EWEB also owns property in the watershed associated with its
electric generation facilities as well as islands, riparian areas, and upland properties. In
short, the McKenzie River is the lifeblood of EWEB and protection of this watershed is
vital to EWEB and the community of Eugene
In August 2000, the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) completed a plan to protect
the McKenzie River as the sole source of drinking water for the City of Eugene. EWEB
began development of a source protection program in May 2001 that implements the
August 2000 plan to address the various threats to water quality and long-term viability
of the McKenzie River as a drinking water source. EWEB is currently working closely
and developing long-term partnerships with over 40 agencies and watershed
stakeholders.
The overall concept of source protection is to have the ability to measure the balance
between watershed health and human use over time and implement actions that
maintain a healthy balance for production of exceptional water quality. This requires not
only being aware of all the different human activities going on within the watershed, but
also understanding the limits of what the river can handle and still maintain a high level
of water quality.
Priority Contamination Threat
The priority contamination threats include urban runoff from stormwater, hazardous
material spills from transport along State Highway 126, impacts from increased
development, commercial and industrial facilities, roadside vegetation management and
agriculture.
Local Involvement and Developing the Protection Plan
EWEB used an interdisciplinary team of staff from environmental management, water
resources planning and drinking water treatment to research and write a comprehensive
plan to protect Eugene's source of drinking water. The plan focused on four main areas:
1) source protection monitoring; 2) effective partnerships; 3) regulatory analysis; and, 4)
environmental setting and risk assessment. All known potential sources of contamination
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were identified, mapped and ranked based on a number of factors (proximity to intake,
one time or continuous discharge, contaminant type, volume, etc.). EWEB hired a
consultant to conduct the risk assessment analysis. The activities that ranked as the
highest threats to EWEB's source water included urban runoff from the City of
Springfield stormwater system, hazardous material spills from transport along State
Highway 126, impacts from increased development (conversion of farm and forest land
to urbanized development), commercial and industrial facilities, roadside vegetation
management and agriculture. EWEB solicited feedback from the major stakeholders in
the watershed and incorporated their comments in the final plan approved by EWEB's
Board of Directors in October 2000.
EWEB used a 1% water rate increase (generating approximately $150,000 in revenue)
in 2001 to fund a source protection coordinator position responsible for development and
implementation of a comprehensive source protection program. The coordinator
completed a Drinking Water Source Protection Program Implementation Plan in
November 2001 that provided a detailed approach to source protection.
EWEB has taken the lead in protecting the McKenzie River both in terms of financial
contributions and by convening partners to work on a number of watershed protection
projects.
Management Measures
In order to adequately assess and mitigate for the numerous threats identified in the
source protection plan EWEB's Drinking Water Source Protection Program was
designed with eight main elements:
Comprehensive Monitoring;
Disaster Preparedness and Response;
Education and Research Assistance;
Point Source Evaluation and Mitigation;
Nonpoint Source Evaluation and Mitigation;
Land Acquisition (and Conservation Easements);
Public Outreach and Information Sharing; and,
Watershed Land Use Tracking and Management
Comprehensive Monitoring
EWEB's Drinking Water Source Protection Plan (2000) indicated that the focus of a
source protection monitoring program should be the assessment of potential impacts
from pollution or other degradation sources to the McKenzie River. The objective of
drinking water source protection monitoring is to provide comprehensive water quality
and biological information to allow assessment of the watershed's health over time. This
information allows EWEB and others to identify potential problems or threats to the
drinking water source early on and evaluate the relative success of restoration and other
protection strategies to mitigate potential threats.
Existing monitoring efforts include:
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Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) ambient surface water
sampling (every other month) to look at long term water quality trends.
Baseline water quality monitoring throughout the watershed every other month
with the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and McKenzie
watershed Council to collect more detailed data that supplements DEQ's ambient
water quality program and adds to assessment of long term water quality trends.
Storm event monitoring with the USGS (generally twice a year) to evaluate
pollution runoff associated with a specific threat such as urban runoff, forestry, or
agriculture.
Shallow groundwater and surface water monitoring during wet and dry seasons
that focus on impacts of septic system cluster areas.
McKenzie Watershed Council's annual watershed macro invertebrate sampling
that allows long term trend analysis using biological indicators.
High school student water quality sampling in Cedar Creek basin (associated
with measuring effects of urban stormwater outfalls) and Camp Creek basin
(includes more extensive monitoring of a number of parameters).
Passive sampler monitoring with the USGS to explore the use of this new
technology in capturing data on pesticides and other toxics over 30-day period.
Disaster Preparedness
EWEB's Drinking Water Source Protection Plan (2000) sets as a priority the need to
prevent spills of hazardous substances in the watershed and increase preparedness and
response capabilities in the event that a spill does occur.
In June 2001, EWEB began working with 27 other federal, state, and local agencies to
design, develop and implement the McKenzie Watershed Emergency Response System
(MWERS). This system is used by incident commanders to quickly gain access to
crucial information, equipment, and trained personnel allowing for an effective response
to hazardous material spills. Watershed responders use Geographic Information
System (GIS) technology to access information on: watershed characteristics; threats;
critical resources; spill response strategies; equipment; emergency contacts and
response personnel; and incident communications. First responders and others are able
to use this information to efficiently and effectively stabilize accidental or intentional
chemical releases as soon as possible and avoid the initial confusion often associated
with spills.
Education and Research Assistance
The objective of this subprogram is to encourage and promote education of students and
research in issues related to watershed health and protection of the McKenzie River as a
valuable resource. EWEB has been supporting high school programs that focus on
monitoring impacts from stormwater runoff in Cedar Creek basin through funding and
collecting split samples for commercial laboratory analysis (quality assurance of student
ran laboratory analysis). Over the last two years EWEB has worked with Springfield
School District, McKenzie Watershed Council, Weyerhaeuser Company and U.S.
Bureau of Land Management to develop a comprehensive outdoor classroom in Camp
Creek basin. Teams of students collect water quality and macro invertebrate data,
conduct streamside bioassessments and take other measurements (e.g., stream flow) at
a number of monitoring sites throughout the basin.
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EWEB also supports research at the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, the
U.S. Forest Service Pacific NW Labs, HJ Andrews Experimental Forest, and the U.S.
Geological Survey. Research topics have included hydrologic processes in the
watershed, climate change impacts, channel configuration and mapping, and
sustainable agriculture.
Point Source Evaluation and Mitigation
The objective of the point source subprogram is to inventory, track, evaluate, and
monitor point sources of potential pollution (i.e., industrial and commercial facilities) to
understand these potential threats and work with regulatory agencies and facilities to
reduce the potential threat to drinking water. EWEB is working with a number of state
and local partners to implement pollution prevention projects, such as an Ecobiz
certification program that certifies auto shops as using environmentally friendly practices.
Nonpoint Source Evaluation and Mitigation
The objective of the nonpoint source subprogram is to inventory, track, evaluate, and
monitor nonpoint sources of potential pollution (i.e., concentration of septic systems;
agricultural activities; forest management activities, stormwater and urban runoff, etc.) to
understand these potential threats and work with regulatory agencies, land owners, and
business groups to implement best management practices and reduce the potential
threat to drinking water.
EWEB has implemented a number of nonpoint source projects, including:
Detailed assessment of each main nonpoint source of pollution.
EWEB is currently working with the City of Eugene, City of Springfield, Lane
County, Lane Council of Governments, Army Corps of Engineers and McKenzie
Watershed Council to analyze and map current conditions of stormwater
channels and receiving creeks and develop mitigation strategies as part of an
area-wide environmental assessment and feasibility study called the Metro
Waterways Project.
Agricultural Chemical Collection Event (collected over 44 tons of old, obsolete
pesticides from farmers).
Healthy Farms Clean Water project (develop long-term relationships with
growers, local and regional markets, local agricultural agencies, watershed
stakeholders, universities, and others to reduce chemical use while increasing
the economic vitality of McKenzie farms as valuable stewards of the watershed).
EWEB is working with the U.S. Forest Service, McKenzie Watershed Council and
University of Oregon to setup a forest stewardship program. Stewardship
contracts are intended to restore forests and watersheds, provide local jobs,
increase community fire safety and provide other community benefits. Receipts
from timber harvest projects (i.e., commercial thinning) remain in the watershed
to fund other restoration projects on public or private land.
McKenzie River Septic System Assistance Project (offers homeowners free
septic system inspections/pump-outs).
Land Acquisition/Conservation Easements
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The objective of the land acquisition subprogram is to target critical properties in the
McKenzie River watershed for purchase or conservation easement in order to protect
the watershed over the long term as a high quality source of drinking water. The
McKenzie River Trust (MRT) is currently the main vehicle for land acquisition for source
protection. EWEB is currently working with MRT and the McKenzie Watershed Council
to target four large areas in the lower watershed for acquisition or easement.
Public Outreach and Information Sharing
The objective of the public outreach and information sharing subprogram is to widely
disseminate data and information collected as part of the source protection program to
EWEB water customers, McKenzie River watershed residents, and other stakeholders.
The source protection program accomplishes this through a number of venues:
coordination with the McKenzie Watershed Council; development of a GIS-based
website with water quality data, reports, and maps; EWEB newsletters and bill stuffers;
press releases about source protection efforts; and presentations about projects at
conferences, workshops, and other meetings and public events.
Watershed Land Use Tracking and Management
The objectives of the land use tracking and management subprogram are to: gain a
thorough understanding of current land use activities and zoning regulations in the
watershed; develop a mechanism for tracking land use activities; and, become an active
participant in shaping land use and zoning policy in the watershed to protect the
McKenzie River as a drinking water source.
Contingency Planning
A comprehensive source protection program is a form of contingency planning. EWEB
and its partners currently conduct extensive water quality and biological monitoring
throughout the watershed during both storm events and on a regular, fixed-interval
basis. EWEB is using this data to build a watershed model that will allow prediction of
rainfall-runoff relationships, pollution load calculations and contaminant transport
scenarios. EWEB's development of strong partnerships associated with the McKenzie
Watershed Emergency Response System (MWERS) and other source protection
projects provides for effective communication around spills or other events that might
have an impact on water quality. Initiation of MWERS during an emergency sets in
motion a series of actions designed to quickly respond to, assess and contain spills or
other threats.
During an emergency, EWEB's treatment plant is one of the first entities contacted.
Operators are at the plant 24/7 and based on the type of emergency and expected time
of potential impacts at the intake, they can take a series of actions, including: adding
activated carbon to raw water, shutting down the intake and using stored finished water
until threat dissipates (2-3 days of storage); drawing water from deeper in the intake
(block off upper zone); or receiving water from an intertie with Springfield Utility Board's
(SUB) water system as a partial backup supply.
Emergency notification would also trigger more intense sampling at the intake and
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elsewhere in the watershed to quantify the threat and verify model results.
Measuring Program Effectiveness
EWEB's investment in conducting an assessment of each viable threat in the watershed
and collecting water quality, GIS and other data to better understand the relative risk
posed by these threats lays the foundation for measuring the program's effectiveness
over time. This allows for reassessment at periodic timeframes (e.g., every 5 years) to
determine if source protection, economic or other factors have led to a risk reduction,
change in behavior or other indications to help understand the long-term trend of each
threat. Development of watershed models also provides EWEB the ability to analyze
land use trends and potential impacts of these trends, as well as assess reduction of
pollution loads from implementation of source protection projects.
For example, some measures of success could include the following:
Quick, efficient response to spills or other emergencies.
Reduction in pesticides/chemicals used in the watershed.
Increase in awareness and completion of regular septic system maintenance.
Increase in the number of growers using 'sustainable' farming practices or
obtaining organic or other similar certifications.
Increase in the number of conservation easements that protect riparian areas in
the watershed.
Decreasing incidence or magnitude of pollutants detected in the McKenzie River
and its tributaries (obtained through both monitoring and modeling).
Increase in conservation activities in the watershed.
Increase in research projects/funding in the watershed.
Increase in number of K-12 students participating in watershed education
programs.
For further information, contact:
Karl Morgenstern, Drinking Water Protection Coordinator
Eugene Water & Electric Board
541-341-8552
Karl.morqenstern@eweb.euqene.or.us
or
Nancy Toth
Eugene Water & Electric Board
541-344-6311 ext. 3318
nancy.toth@eweb.eugene.or.us
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