EWEB Partners with the City and YMCA to Celebrate New Amazon Park Emergency Water Station Site
Cedar and RJ prepare to fill water containers at the Amazon Park Emergency Water Station Demonstration event.
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The South Eugene community has a new resiliency resource: an Emergency Water Station in Amazon Park, located just south of the Eugene Family YMCA Don Stathos Campus. The site will be used to distribute water if a natural disaster like an earthquake disrupts regular service.
On Saturday, Sept. 28, EWEB, the city's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and YMCA staff set up the station and invited the public to practice filling water containers and learn more about emergency preparedness.
“EWEB has many tools to get water where it’s needed in an emergency,” said Nathan Endicott, EWEB staff engineer and project manager for the emergency water station program. “These demonstration events give us valuable practice mobilizing for the community in different ways.”
Setup volunteers worked with EWEB to assemble piping to distribute water in the southwest corner of the Y parking lot. Signage was placed to route attendees through the system. The setup mirred that of an actual emergency so attendees could get a feel for the layout before a real deployment.
"We want the community to recognize this site as a key emergency hub,” said Brian Steffen, CEO of the Eugene Family YMCA. “People can get water here, shelter here, and access other services in times of need.”
The neighboring Y facility was built to the highest seismic standards and has a commercial-grade kitchen and backup generator system to provide emergency power. The water station ties into the Y’s power resources, bolstering resiliency and reducing project costs. Three Y staff leaders were trained to help mobilize the water station in the event of an emergency.
Saturday’s demonstration event kicked off at 10:30 a.m. with short remarks by project partners, followed by a ribbon cutting.
EWEB Commissioner John Barofsky and YMCA CEO Brian Steffen cut the ribbon to the station with station setup staff in the background.
EWEB distributed approximately 200 free, three-gallon water containers to attendees. Preparedness-related coloring sheets and stickers were also on hand for families.
This Amazon Park Emergency Water Station is the sixth such site established and operated by EWEB. Construction of the seventh and final station at Kennedy Middle School started this month. Once complete, Eugene will have a full network of geographically distributed Emergency Water Stations. Together, the stations have the capacity to provide immediate and reliable access to two gallons of water per person per day to everyone in Eugene following a disaster.
EWEB is on track to complete the Emergency Water Station Program within a budget of approximately $3 million. This innovative emergency water solution was made possible through partnerships with the YMCA, City of Eugene, Lane County, the Eugene Science Center and local school districts. By building facilities on partner properties and sharing resources like power connections, EWEB has minimized financial impacts on customers while enhancing community resiliency.
In the event of a disaster, EWEB will mobilize at Emergency Water Station sites. Residents in need of water should bring a container to fill and disinfect water before use.
Residents are encouraged to identify the location of the Emergency Water Station nearest their home and to join the Pledge to Prepare Program to prep for extended, emergency-related outages of water or electric service.
The Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) advises Oregonians to become “2 Weeks Prepared.” This means having a plan and enough food, water and supplies to survive for at least two weeks following a large-scale disaster. EWEB’s Pledge to Prepare Program makes it easy and affordable for residents to gather needed supplies.
More information about Emergency Preparedness can be found here: eweb.org/EmergencyPrep.
Related Programs
Emergency Water Stations
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.
Your drinking water quality
Access to clean water is vital to our community. That is why we work hard to deliver water that meets or exceeds all state and federal health standards.
Water Reliablity Projects
We're making investments to prepare, replace and maintain our community's water system.
