OREGON: SALEM
Salem Works with U.S. Forest Service to Protect
its Watershed
Background
Salem, Oregon's State Capitol, is located in the central Willamette Valley of Western
Oregon. As Oregon's second largest city, the City of Salem serves a population of
approximately 180,000 water customers in addition to three wholesale customers:
Suburban East Salem Water District, City of Turner, and Orchard Heights Water
Association. The City of Salem uses the North Santiam River as its primary drinking
water source due to the quality of the river water. The North Santiam River connects
eight small communities and the City of Salem by serving as their primary drinking water
source. The North Santiam River headwaters flow from Mt. Jefferson located in the
central Cascade Mountain Range and eventually empties into the Willamette River.
Bordered by Mt. Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack Mountain, the North Santiam
Watershed, approximately 490,000 acres, is characterized by forested highlands and flat
alluvial valleys. The North Santiam Watershed also supports two dams, Detroit and Big
Cliff, which provide flood control, generate hydropower, and provide recreation at Detroit
Lake.
Land ownership in the watershed is approximately 70% public and 30% private. Public
ownership is primarily the United States Forest Service and the Oregon Department of
Forestry. Primary activities within the watershed include timber harvesting, agriculture,
and recreation.
Salem's drinking water treatment facility is located on Geren Island, a small 250-acre
island approximately 17 miles east of Salem. The water from the North Santiam River
is high quality with low turbidity which allows the City to use slow sand filtration as its
water treatment process. Slow sand filtration uses sand and gravel filters to remove
suspended particles from the raw water. The schmutzdecke, a sticky mat of biological
matter, forms on the sand surface resulting in biological degradation of organic matter.
Slow sand filters consistently demonstrate their effectiveness in removing suspended
particles with effluent turbidities below 1.0 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU), achieving
90 to 99 percent reductions in bacteria and viruses, and providing virtually complete
Giardia lamblia cyst and Cryptosporidium oocyst removal.1 In addition to slow sand
filtration, the City provides disinfection of its drinking water with on-site generation of
sodium hypochlorite, fluoridation with fluorosilicic acid, and the addition of soda ash for
pH adjustment.
Source Water Assessment: A source water assessment, as required by the Federal Safe
Drinking Water Act, was completed on the North Santiam River Watershed in May of
2003. The goal of the assessment was to determine the potential sources of
contamination to Salem's drinking water source. The assessment included a delineation
of the drinking water protection area, identification of sensitive areas, an inventory of
"Slow Sand Filtration", Tech Brief—A National Drinking Water Clearinghouse Fact Sheet, June 2000.
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potential contamination sources, susceptibility analysis, and recommendations for the
development of a source water protection plan.
Priority Contamination Threats
Contaminants of concern include sediments/turbidity, microbiological agents, and
nutrients. Potential sources of contaminants include transportation corridors, septic
systems, forestry practices, above and below ground storage tanks, wood processing
and milling, junk yards, and auto and mechanical shops. Water quality can be protected
when contaminants are managed properly, and land use activities minimize erosion and
contaminant releases.
Local Involvement and Developing the Protection Plan
City of Salem is the lead organization with U.S. Forest Service, Oregon
Department of Forestry, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
developed the protection plan which included the North Santiam River
Cooperative Water Quality Monitoring Program, the Three Basin Rule, and public
information and outreach.
Management Measures
North Santiam River Cooperative Water Quality Monitoring Program
In 1997, the City of Salem entered a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to
maintain the high quality of the North Santiam River. The MOU, entitled "North Santiam
River Cooperative Water Quality Monitoring Program", involves a joint study between the
City of Salem, Unites States Geological Survey (USGS), Wllamette National Forest, and
United States Army Corp of Engineers to better understand the sources and transport of
sediment that causes high turbidity. Turbidity levels in excess of 10 NTU can cause the
slow sand filters at Geren Island to clog, affecting Salem's ability to treat drinking water.
As a result of this study, contributing agencies can continuously monitor hydrologic and
water quality data in the North Santiam Watershed. The water quality probes are
located at eight locations in the watershed. Each location provides data on the water
level, pH, specific conductance, water temperature, and turbidity.
The City of Salem uses this data as an early warning system for changing water quality
conditions upstream from the Geren Island Water Treatment Facility. Specifically, high
turbidity water may impact the ability for the slow sand filters to efficiently function or
may in fact become damaged. In response to turbidity levels greater than 10 NTU, the
City can temporarily close its intake structure until levels return to below 10 NTU. The
real-time data produced from this project allows the City of Salem to better manage the
Geren Island Water Treatment Facility.
Three Basin Rule
There are protective management measures in place to preserve the quality of drinking
water that Salem delivers to its water customers. The "Three Basin Rule", a state law
affecting the Clackamas, McKenzie (above RM 15), and the North Santiam River
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subbasins, protects the high quality of water for municipal water supplies, recreation,
and preservation of aquatic life by prohibiting new or increased waste discharges. This
rule effectively curtails the development of available land within the watershed by making
wastewater disposal prohibitively expensive.
Public Involvement and Outreach
The North Santiam Watershed Council is dedicated to providing public involvement
opportunities regarding water quality in the North Santiam River. The City of Salem is
involved with the Council and maintains continued participation on the Steering
Committee.
In addition to participation on the North Santiam Watershed Council, the City hosts semi-
annual meetings for all water suppliers that use the North Santiam as a drinking water
source. These meetings provide an opportunity for water suppliers to discuss changes
in water quality, water treatment, or watershed issues. As a result of the North Santiam
Canyon Water Suppliers meetings, an emergency contact list has been developed to
ensure that in the event of an emergency, all water suppliers could be immediately
contacted. Salem maintains and updates the emergency contact list on a semi-annual
basis.
Salem has also produced and distributed a source water protection video, "Protecting
the North Santiam River Watershed", which highlights ways to protect the high quality of
water in the North Santiam River. The video addresses City of Salem residents and
their potential impacts to the river, as well as potential impacts from businesses and/or
residents within the watershed. Additionally, a source water protection workbook for 4th
and 5th graders in the Salem-Keizer and North Santiam School Districts is underway.
The City also has a Water Resources Program that develops educational programs for
students or community groups. Volunteer opportunities for watershed protection include
restoration projects, storm drain stenciling, and an Adopt-A-Stream program. The City of
Salem offers watershed and source water protection information on its website at
www.cityofsalem.net.
Contingency Planning
The City is currently updating its Water Master Plan for the water system identifying
additional potential sources of drinking water. Recent water system upgrades include
the lining, covering, and seismic reinforcement of Franzen Reservoir, a 92-million gallon
water storage facility. Salem is also currently replacing one of its two transmission lines
which was built in 1936 and is at the end of its service life. The new line will increase
transmission capacity from 66 million gallons a day to 125 million gallons a day. In
addition to a total of 135 million gallons of finished water storage, the City has an Aquifer
Storage and Recovery (ASR) system. The City stores approximately 450 million gallons
of drinking water in the ASR system which serves as both a supplemental source of
drinking water during summer months and as an emergency source if needed.
Additionally, the City owns several older wells that serve as emergency sources but are
not used on a consistent basis due to aesthetic water quality issues. The City also
maintains emergency connections with the Cities of Stayton and Keizer in the event of
an emergency.
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Measuring Program Effectiveness
Water quality data from the North Santiam River Cooperative Water Quality Monitoring
Program has allowed the City to better manage its water treatment facility in response to
high turbidity events. Additionally, water quality data can be linked to activities within the
watershed. This data provides primary land owners within the watershed, the USDA
Forest Service and Willamette National Forest, important water quality information
attributed to activities on their land. Furthermore, the City of Salem routinely
independently tests water samples from the North Santiam River to analyze for
dissolved oxygen, pH, specific conductance, water temperature, and turbidity to monitor
for major changes in raw water quality.
For further information, contact
Dave Embleton
City of Salem
Water Quality Specialist
(503) 588-6487
dembleton@citvofsalem.net
Lacey Baldwin
Water Quality Program Specialist
City of Salem Public Works Department
1410 20th Street SE, Bldg. #2
Salem OR 97302-1200
Office: (503) 361-2224
Fax: (503)588-6480
LBaldwin@cityofsalem.net
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