EWEB commissioners give green light to $392 million Willamette River water intake

Eugene Water & Electric Board commissioners voted Tuesday, July 7, to move forward with development of a new water intake and treatment plant on the Willamette River expected to cost $392 million.

EWEB plans to build the facility off McVay Highway in Glenwood. The utility now draws water only from the McKenzie River. EWEB leaders say a second water source is needed to reduce the risk of impacts from disruptions, such as wildfires, severe weather or hazardous spills.

“Most large utilities have multiple sources of water just as they have multiple sources of power to hedge for these risks,” said Karen Kelley, EWEB’s chief operations officer.

Additionally, EWEB’s only water treatment plant, the Hayden Bridge Filtration Plant, is 76 years old. The utility says it will need to take the plant offline for inspection, maintenance and eventual upgrades by 2040.

EWEB plans to develop drinking water plant on Willamette River in Glenwood

EWEB has purchased land for the new facility and is completing land-use and permitting processes. The plant is projected to be fully commissioned in 2032, Kelley said. 

Staff will present the utility’s long-term financial plan at the board’s August meeting, which will include how the project will affect customer rates.

“An investment of this scale is going to have significant rate implications to our customers,” Kelley said. “We know that. We take the value of affordability seriously by making wise investments and controlling costs and rates, which is why we continue to evaluate various financing and funding options for this project.”

The utility is considering options such as bonds, federal programs and grants. 

“This is likely the largest investment the water utility will be making in its history,” General Manager John Hairston said.

Plant options 

EWEB has been contemplating adding a second water source for decades.

“Because of the size and complexity of the project, many boards have wrestled with making an investment of this size, and the rate pressures have been a recurring factor; we’re well aware of that,” Kelley said.

On Tuesday, staff presented commissioners with multiple plant designs that would produce between 10 million and 30 million gallons of water per day, including a 2017 design that never moved forward.

That design — the least expensive at $160 million — scaled back treatment processes to meet a low budget target. The plant was engineered to provide water to residences during an earthquake but not restore to normal service and would therefore not allow for the Hayden Bridge plant to be taken offline, Kelley said.

“Now we’re in 2026 and the risk landscape has evolved significantly since the 2017 design was completed,” she said. “Events of the past several years have made clear that a second source is not just an earthquake-preparedness measure. The 2020 Holiday Farm Fire and 2024 ice storm both came close to causing citywide water outages. These are the kind of weather and climate-driven events that we can expect more frequently with climate change.”

Staff recommended building a plant with an initial capacity of 19.4 million gallons of water per day that could be expanded to 30 million gallons in the future. Its price tag is $337 million. 

Commissioner John Barofsky said he wanted the board to consider a plant among the staff’s options that would have infrastructure to produce 30 million gallons, which is the utility’s projected average daily demand. 

“The fact that we couldn’t take Hayden Bridge offline for an extended period of time gives me pause,” Barofsky said of the staff’s recommended design. He also noted that phasing the project adds to the overall cost, rather than starting with the infrastructure for 30 million gallons of water per day. 

“In terms of dollars per million gallons, the 30 million gallon scenario would be the best approach to take, but when you’re balancing affordability, financial health of the organization, etcetera, the sweet spot for us” was the $337 million option, Hairston said. 

Ultimately, the board voted to pursue building the 30-million-gallon plant now. 

EWEB has water rights for 19.4 million gallons per day and will need to obtain additional water rights for the 30 million gallon option. 

“I know the decision we’re making today is going to affect some of the most vulnerable folks,” Commissioner Tim Morris said, noting EWEB is making investments in its customer care program to help lower-income customers pay their bills. “And my concern is if we don’t put forward a forward-thinking plan, future customers will be even more adversely affected by that decision than today’s customers.”