Learn more about the PWP
For more information about the PWP Program, email info@purewaterpartners.org or call 541-685-7438.The Pure Water Partners (PWP) Program is an initiative designed to reward landowners in the McKenzie Watershed for protecting their lands along the river and restoring riparian forests. Their good stewardship helps EWEB protect the source of our drinking water, avoiding future water treatment costs. Pure Water Partners also provide technical assistance for landowners who need restoration work on their properties.
Sign Up for a Property Assessment
We invite McKenzie landowners to sign up for a free property assessment in which we evaluate properties for invasive vegetation, fuels accumulation, potential replanting needs, and erosion issues. You will need to sign an access agreement with EWEB to allow project partners to visit your property.
Once the access agreement is signed, PWP staff from the McKenzie Watershed Council, Upper Willamette Soil & Water Conservation District, or McKenzie River Trust will contact you to schedule a property assessment. Learn more about how to get started with a property assessment from PWP.
Sign UpNaturescaping
Naturescaping is a method of landscaping that seeks to incorporate native plants, reduce water use, enhance habitat and protect water quality while producing a landscape that meets landowner needs, is easier to maintain, and can save both time and money.
EWEB works with local partners to put on naturescaping workshops, which cover a variety of topics, including developing a functional and water-wise landscaping plan; planting the "right plant" in the "right place;" addressing invasive species; the importance of riparian buffers to water quality; reducing pesticide and fertilizer use, and enriching soil quality through composting.
For anyone interested in getting started in Naturescaping, here are some downloadable resources:
Landowners who partner with the PWP Program can receive either of the following Naturescaping incentives:
1. Technical Assistance Consultation: In this pathway, landowners receive a site visit as well as up to 4 hours of consultation from a PWP staff member around naturescaping principles and are eligible for a $250 credit from a native plant nursery working with PWP.
OR
2. Naturescaping Design: Landowners choosing this pathway will also receive a site visit and up to 4 hours of consultation from a PWP staff member but will elect to use the $250 towards working with the McKenzie Watershed ouncil to develop a naturescaping design for their property. Landowners contract directly wtih the McKenzie Watershed Council for a 'fee-for-service' design.
Landowners in the PWP program are able to receive wholesale prices or discounts from the native nurseries that partner with PWP.
Free naturescaping classes are generally offered once a year and explain basic naturescaping concepts and how to apply these concepts on-the-ground.
Invasive Species Control
Invasive Species threaten our watershed by degrading habitat, outcompeting native species, and increasing fire risk with dense and dry vegetation. Pure Water Partners has compiled the following fact sheets to assist landowners in managing common invasive species and limiting their impact in our watershed.
Please familiarize yourself with some common invasive species below, and learn how to mitigate them:
Keeping our watershed healthy relies on voluntary participation from community members like you. If you are not already part of the Pure Water Partners program, please see above to sign up for a free property assessment.
McKenzie Firewood Program
The McKenzie Firewood Program is a free firewood program for people affected by the Holiday Farm Fire and the local community. The Pure Water Partners (PWP) developed the program as an offshoot of our forest fuels reduction work with landowners.
For more information, link to: Firewood Program – McKenzie Watershed Council
What is Pure Water Partners?
PWP encourages stewardship of healthy riparian forest areas and provides incentives to landowners to protect and/or restore riparian forests as key systems for maintaining clean water, reducing erosion, providing shade along the adjacent waterbody, providing key habitat for fish and wildlife, and maintaining a healthy resilient watershed.
PWP also recommends the use of native plants as a way of reducing chemical and water use, as well as maintenance, while protecting water quality and increasing native wildlife habitat. In light of the Holiday Farm Fire, PWP is encouraging landowners to incorporate Firewise practices on their properties, which are aimed at creating defensible space and reducing invasive vegetation and ladder fuels that can threaten homes and structures.
Program partners include the Eugene Water & Electric Board, Cascade Pacific Resource Conservation & Development, McKenzie Watershed Council, McKenzie River Trust, Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission, Upper Willamette Soil & Water Conservation District, University of Oregon, and the US Forest Service.
What does a Property Assessment entail?
Landowners must sign up for a property assessment to give permission for PWP to schedule a time with you to visit your property. It is a nonbinding step to begin your involvement to work with PWP and receive program benefits.
1. Sign up for a property assessment
2. EWEB will send you a DocuSign access agreement to sign electronically. This allows our partners to visit your property.
3. A staff member from the McKenzie Watershed Council, Upper Willamette Soil & Water Conservation District, or McKenzie River Trust will contact you to schedule a property assessment.
4. PWP staff will come out to assess your property.
5. Following the property assessment, you will receive a report with detailed recommendations for your property. These recommendations are written as a resource for how you can steward your property for conservation/ecological purposes. PWP conservation and restoration actions are contingent upon PWP funding availability and are not guaranteed.
6. If you are interested in continuing on in the program, you will then sign a Watershed Stewardship Agreement with EWEB to join the PWP program. PWP partners will then work to apply for restoration funding for your property, which could take a couple of years depending upon funding availablity, grant cycles, etc.
7. If funding is secured, PWP partners will provide a more detailed scope of work for review by the landowner.
8. If the landowner agrees to the work, the project can move forward. There is no obligation to move forward with the work if landowner circumstances have changed.
Sign up today to start your journey with PWP!
Sign Up
Pure Water Partners in Action
Watch the following videos to see how the Pure Water Partners program is working with Holiday Farm Fire landowners throughout the watershed on restoration and replanting.
Support Pure Water Partners & the McKenzie Community
PWP is partnering with the McKenzie Valley Long-Term Recovery Group to help landowners who need assistance post-fire. If you are interested in donating, please donate through our partner, the McKenzie Watershed Council: https://www.mckenziewc.org/pwpdonation/
If you would like to donate to help support the Pure Water Partners Program and the work that we do, please donate to the McKenzie Watershed Conservation Fund (through our financial manager Cascade Pacific). Our goal is for the Pure Water Partners Program to become a self-sustainable source of funding. Currently, our work is funded by a mix of sources, including:
- Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB)
- Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC)
- Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB)
- U.S. Forest Service Stewardship Contracting
- Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA)
- OR Senate Bill 762
- EWEB water ratepayers through the Watershed Recovery Fee
These funding sources will vary over time in both the diversity of contributors as well as the amount of funding from each source.
Contact Us
For more information about the PWP Program, email info@purewaterpartners.org or call 541-685-7438.
Related Programs
Holiday Farm Fire Customer Resources
Information about utility services, resources and support options for customers impacted by the Holiday Farm Fire.
McKenzie Watershed Landowner Programs
Are you a landowner in the McKenzie Watershed? Check out our assistance programs and incentives.
Fire Recovery & Watershed Restoration
EWEB is heavily involved in protecting drinking water in the aftermath of the Holiday Farm Fire.
Drinking Water Source Protection Plan
Learn about our 10-year strategic plan for our Drinking Water Source Protection Program.
Holiday Farm Fire Rebuild Assistance
McKenzie Rebuilds is an online resource center for homeowners and landowners recovering from the Holiday Farm Fire. This site shares information about financial assistance, clean up, watershed protection, and other resources.
