Eugene Water & Electric Board has begun the process of adding a second water treatment plant that will take water from the Willamette River.
The utility’s commissioners voted unanimously this month to start designing a plant that can process up to 30 million gallons of water a day.
“This is likely the largest investment the water utility will be making in its history,” EWEB General Manager John Hairston told the board during the July 7 meeting.
The 30 million gallons per day is about 10 million gallons more than what the utility holds rights to, though commissioners reasoned that EWEB would be able to acquire further rights if more is needed.
The project is estimated to cost $392 million, and commissioners were told that it would likely involve a notable rate hike. Staff will provide commissioners with information on how to pay for the plant at the board’s Aug. 4 meeting.
The project will increase the utility’s capacity and allow it to possibly provide water to other utilities in the area.
"I think we’re going to become a regional water supplier whether we want to or not,” said Board President John Brown during the meeting. “If you look at Creswell, Cottage Grove, Junction City, Coburg, Veneta, where do they get their water? It’s all groundwater. A lot of it is challenged and they don’t have the resources that we have from the major rivers."
He said that becoming a regional provider could push rates down long-term since many water utility costs are fixed.
The project will also provide resiliency in case of a natural disaster and allow for maintenance at the utility’s 76-year-old Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant, which draws water from the McKenzie River.
Commissioners were told by utility staff that the Hayden Bridge Plant requires inspection and maintenance work that will require a six-month shutdown by 2040.
Staff said the new plant is also a pressing need because the permit that EWEB holds to use Willamette River water requires that it begin doing so by 2033.
