Junction City’s annual Scandinavian Festival is this weekend, celebrating the food, culture and history of the area. Organizers expect about 80,000 visitors over three days to the small town north of Eugene, but this year’s celebration comes at a tough time.
More than three weeks ago, Junction City Public Works issued a “stage two” emergency water notice, mandating residents reduce water usage by 30%. A power outage at a well used some of the city’s reserves just as summer was heating up.
Festival organizers asked for help so the public water system wouldn’t be strained, and Anderson’s Erosion Control stepped up to donate a truckload of water. Julie Emmons is their bookkeeper. She told KLCC, “Most of us that work here are from Junction City, and just with the water shortage that is happening in town right now, Anderson’s knew that there was a need and decided to help out.”
Emmons said the donated water will largely be used for flowers at the festival.
Initially, Junction City officials thought the water emergency wouldn’t last as long as it has. The city needs to make sure it has enough water in reserve in case of wildfires.
