EWEB marked a major milestone in March 2024 by completing construction of new drinking water storage tanks near East 40th Avenue. The tanks supply drinking water to everyone in Eugene and are built to withstand a major earthquake. Work is currently underway to replace EWEB's College Hill Reservoir with modern, seismically-resilient storage tanks identical to those constructed near East 40th.

We are working with community partners to develop an emergency water supply program that includes several permanent distribution sites located throughout the community using groundwater wells, as well as mobile water trailers. As of October 2024, six sites are operational.

We have developed a self-contained mobile distribution and treatment system that can deliver water in the event of an emergency.

The system consists of three mobile water distribution trailers and a mobile water treatment trailer, all with back-up power generation. The treatment trailer is equipped with filtration and disinfection systems and has a treatment capacity of one hundred gallons per minute while meeting EPA requirements for potable water.

Of the 20 largest cities in the Northwest, Eugene is the only one with a single source of drinking water. While the McKenzie River will continue to be Eugene's primary water source, EWEB is in the early stages of developing an additional water supply on the Willamette River. 

Accessing the Willamette River as a redundant source is an important next step to ensure we can provide drinking water to our customers in case an emergency impacts the Hayden Bridge Filtration Plant or McKenzie River supply. 

EWEB is preparing to construct two new water storage tanks and associated piping improvements near an existing water storage tank on North Shasta Loop.

Tree removal will begin in early September 2023 with tank construction starting in April of 2024. The entire process is expected to take around 12 months.

• Phase 1 (duration 2-3 months): Tree and brush removal, excavation work for the tank foundation, retaining wall construction, on-site utility construction, and constructing the tank subgrade of compacted rock.
• Phase 2 (duration 4-6 months): Construction of two new bolted steel tanks.
• Phase 3 (duration 2-3 months): Demolition of the existing tank, site restoration and landscaping.

The new 0.5 million-gallon bolted glass-fused-to-steel storage tanks will replace a 1.75 million-gallon tank that was built in the 1960s. 

EWEB is constructing a new water pump station and pipeline on Highland Drive near the west side of Hendrick's Park. When complete, the new water main and pump station will meet modern seismic and fire codes.

Here are some basic facts about the project:

• The area around Hendrick’s Park is currently served from a pump station that runs 24 hours a day to provide water for fire suppression and domestic uses. The pump station is undersized for new development in the area. EWEB will leverage developer funds to construct new seismically hardened water infrastructure to benefit the entire area.
• The new pump station will be an 20’x20’ concrete masonry building sited within Hendrick’s Park.
• A new 12-inch pipeline will be constructed in Highland Dr. from the existing storage tank to the intersection of Woodland Dr.
• A new 8-inch pipeline and fire hydrant will be construction on Woodland Drive.
• A standby generator will be installed to allow the pump station to supply water during power outages.

Work began in late-November 2022 and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2023. Workdays will generally be Monday - Friday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Neighbors can expect truck traffic, equipment noise and intermittent access delays through spring 2023.

If you have questions or want to learn more about the project, contact us at water.storage@eweb.org or 541-685-7899.

We have invested more than $35 million upgrading, expanding and renovating our Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant. Over the past ten years, we have completed a series of seismic upgrades to the plant, including reinforcing basin walls and filter buildings and disconnecting an old flume from the filtration building.

In 2019, we changed the way we disinfect drinking water, switching from chlorine gas to a liquid chlorine bleach that is manufactured on-site at our Hayden Bridge Filtration Plant. The new system, which uses coarse salt, water and electrolytic conversion to make sodium hypochlorite (bleach), allows us to store enough salt at the filtration plant to last three months.

Learn more about the water filtration process.