Related News
Related News
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Spill Drill 2024: EWEB & partners practice containing hazardous materials spills on McKenzie River
EWEB coordinates the drill as part of our work to protect the McKenzie River – the source of drinking water for more than 200,000 residents of the Eugene metro area.
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Imagine a Day Without Water 2024
Learn how you can prepare for an extended water outage.
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Smart meters make UO move-in easier
Automatic move-in service order processing makes signing up for electric service easy for UO students and the entire Eugene community, while keeping utility vehicles off the road and lowering carbon emissions.
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“We're just surrounded with people who are really helpful."
Michele Victor lost her home, septic system, and two cats to the fire. But thanks to EWEB's Septic System Repair and Replacement Grants, she is one step closer to rebuilding her home.
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EWEB Partners with the City and YMCA to Celebrate New Amazon Park Emergency Water Station Site
Hundreds of attendees practiced filling up water containers at Saturday's demonstration event.
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Source Water Protection Week: Our Commitment to Clean Water
EWEB celebrates our community's commitment to protecting the McKenzie River, the source of Eugene's drinking water.
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September is National Preparedness Month: 3 tips to prepare your home & family
Let's "Be Ready" together!
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EWEB customers achieve remarkable results in environmental stewardship through EWEB's Lead Green programs
Subscribers of EWEB's Lead Green programs helped reduce carbon emissions in 2023 by 730 metric tons of CO2e.
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EWEB prepares to re-energize the new Currin Substation
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EWEB, SUB and RWD join forces at Lane County Fair to distribute water to fairgoers
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EWEB preparing for expected surge in electric vehicles
Electric vehicle (EV) sales are poised to skyrocket in the years ahead as technology improves, more models hit the market, prices fall and regulations limit the sale of gas-powered vehicles. And EWEB is preparing for this surge.
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Community members can test out climate-friendly e-bikes at E-Bike Expo on Saturday
EWEB encourages Eugene residents to ride into summer on clean, accessible e-bikes, with a $300 e-bike rebate.
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EWEB bids a fond farewell to College Hill Reservoir and prepares for modern drinking water storage tanks
Several hundred Eugene residents came together on May 30 for a Farewell Celebration at EWEB’s College Hill Reservoir before demolition and construction to build modern drinking water storage tanks begins later this year.
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Tips to stay cool while saving money this summer
June is quickly approaching, and that means summer weather is just around the corner. Before you turn up the air conditioning and see an increase in your utility bill, try these tips to prepare your home for warmer weather to keep your home cool.
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Drinking Water Week 2024
This week, we celebrate the value of clean, safe water, the importance of water infrastructure, and the critical role of water professionals.
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EWEB Introduces Program to Fund Wildfire Restoration in the McKenzie Watershed
March 17, 2021
At the March 2 EWEB Board meeting, Commissioners approved a new program that will pay for wildfire restoration projects in the watershed through a temporary flat fee assessed to customer water bills beginning later this year.
The community-funded watershed recovery and restoration initiative will supplement EWEB's McKenzie River Source Protection Program to safeguard drinking water for Eugene residents by addressing immediate risks such as erosion from high burn areas and redevelopment along the river, as well as longer-term resiliency investments to restore floodplain areas that are critical to water quality and habitat.
The 2020 Holiday Farm Fire caused extensive damage to the McKenzie watershed, by reducing tree cover and creating toxic ash, debris, and sediment that can wash into the river, degrading drinking water quality and increasing treatment costs.
In recent storm events, enhanced monitoring in the river has detected fire-related increases in metals, nutrients, solids, bacteria, and organic carbon. Fortunately, these impacts have been short-lived, and the water quality issues experienced so far are well within the capacity of EWEB's treatment plant to handle. Read more about your drinking water quality.
The Watershed Recovery Fee will be assessed to all residential and commercial customers based on meter size. For most residential and business customers, the fee will be a flat $3 per month (based on a 1-inch or smaller water meter). Some customers, such as large businesses and those with extensive irrigation needs, will pay more ($4.50 to $30 per month) based on meter size.
The fee will go into effect mid-2021 and will be in place for 60 months (5 years), at which time it will automatically sunset.
EWEB Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt the fee that will raise $12 million over a five-year period to fund critical response and recovery efforts.
"I fully support the fee and view this as money well spent," said EWEB Board President Mindy Schlossberg, who represents the entire city in the at-large position. "It's our responsibility to take care of watershed. I'm proud of the work EWEB is doing and I think this will serve as a model for many other communities who recognize that wildfires are becoming more and more common."
Over more than a decade of outreach and research, customers have expressed a clear and unchanging priority—ensuring safe, reliable drinking water remains the most important EWEB program.
The community-funded watershed recovery and restoration initiative will supplement EWEB's McKenzie River Source Protection Program and provide financial resources to ensure that our community's most basic need for clean, safe, and abundant drinking water is reliably met.
EWEB is exploring ways to mitigate the fee's impact on limited-income customers. We will share more details about the Watershed Recovery Fee with all customers in the coming weeks and months.
Learn more about protecting drinking water in the aftermath of the Holiday Farm Fire.