Supporting our Community in Times of Crisis

Despite the challenges 2021 brought, the MWMC has stayed committed to effectively and sustainably cleaning wastewater for the Eugene-Springfield area. Operations staff at our Wastewater Treatment Plant, Biosolids Management Facility, and Biocycle Farm have continued to report to our facilities in person to provide essential wastewater services with continued safety measures in place to protect them from transmission of COVID-19.

We continue to partner with Oregon State University and the Oregon Health Authority for statewide SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Treatment Plant Monitoring. We have been testing samples of wastewater coming into the treatment plant 1-2 times a week since September 2020 and will continue this sampling partnership for the foreseeable future. After our sampling and lab technicians collect and prep the samples, they are sent to OSU and reported to the Oregon Health Authority. Check out OHA's Wastewater Monitoring dashboard at the link below to learn more.

Protecting the Environment

We strive to achieve and maintain the best environmental standards in our daily work as we responsibly manage the region's wastewater. The MWMC is committed to clean water, community health, and the environment.

In 2021, we cleaned 11.8 billion gallons of wastewater, an average of 31.8 million gallons per day. We also performed 29,909 water quality tests on 3,425 samples. These tests help to ensure our treatment processes are working effectively and that the water we're returning to the Willamette River meets or exceeds all permit requirements. Our state-of-the-art laboratory is also used to support other environmental programs, testing stormwater, industrial wastewater, groundwater, and other samples for our partner organizations. This benefits the quality of the one water we all share. Our Wastewater Treatment Plant operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

We were again recognized with a Platinum Peak Performance Award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies for the 14th consecutive year of 100% compliance with effluent discharge permit limits.

Sustainability & Recovered Resources

Since its inception, the MWMC has been committed to providing high quality wastewater services while being innovative in its techniques. We implement practices that help protect our environment while ensuring fiscal responsibility to our customers.

Resource recovery is an important part of the MWMC's overall mission, vision, and values, as it allows us to reuse byproducts of the wastewater treatment process in a beneficial way for both the environment and community. Keep scrolling to learn more about our resource recovery and sustainability efforts.

Recovered Resource: Biosolids

For more than 38 years, we have been producing valuable biosolids from our wastewater treatment process for beneficial reuse purposes on our Biocycle Farm and other local farmlands. These materials contain high concentrations of nutrients and are safe for the environment. In 2021, we applied 2,652 dry tons of biosolids to a total of 533 acres between our Biocycle Farm and local farmland.

Our Biocycle Farm is comprised of 400 acres of poplar trees on about 600 acres of agricultural land.

Recovered Resource: Recycled Water

Dating back to the 1980s, we've been using recycled water for irrigation on our Biocycle Farm and Treatment Plant grounds, as well as for processing biosolids. In 2021, we utilized 74.8 million gallons of recycled water for these purposes.

Now, we're working toward producing the highest class of recycled water recognized in Oregon, approved for virtually every use where drinking-quality water is unnecessary. This will allow the MWMC to collaborate with both public and private partners to use recycled water for other beneficial purposes beyond the MWMC’s fence line. Every gallon of recycled water that is used for irrigation, industrial processes, wetland enhancement, and other beneficial uses potentially can save a gallon of our community's drinking water for other competing demands.

In October 2020, the Commission authorized the Class A Recycled Water Disinfection Facilities to move forward to the engineering design phase. Design for these facility upgrades reached 90% in winter 2022, and the project will be ready to go to bid summer 2022. The project involves upgrades to the tertiary filters at the treatment plant for producing ultra-clear recycled water, adding ultraviolet (UV) enhanced disinfection facilities, retrofitting an existing million-gallon basin for recycled water storage, and adding a new pump station and truck fill station for distributing the recycled water to points of use. Staff continue to seek grant funding for this project to increase our community's water resource resiliency.

A Recycled Water Advisory Network will be launched in concert with the construction phase of Class A Disinfection Facilities. The Network will advise the MWMC on partnerships to expand recycled water use where it can provide the best environmental benefits and economic opportunities for our community. If you’re interested in getting plugged in with the Advisory Network, click here to learn more and participate in our survey.

Sustainability: Biocycle Farm Poplar Harvest

In 2021, the MWMC harvested 108 acres of poplar trees on our Biocycle Farm, located between Eugene and Junction City off Highway 99. We worked with CTS Inc. for logging and Lane Forest Products for slash management. In total, over 10,000 tons of logs were harvested, providing a renewable resource for our community.

The poplar trees on our Biocycle Farm grow rapidly with the help of biosolids and recycled water, reclaimed resources of the wastewater treatment process. Harvesting those trees brings sustainability full circle, from waste to wood. In partnership with Urban Lumber, approximately 70 thousand board feet (MBF) have been milled into dimensional boards and live-edge planks. These milled boards will be available for sale for use by community builders starting in 2022, in partnership with BRING Recycling, a local building materials reuse and repurpose outlet.

Additionally, the MWMC worked with Wilson Biochar Associates, Long Tom Watershed Council, and Northwest Youth Corps for a biochar production demonstration. We produced approximately 7 cubic yards of biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment, by burning poplar slash with under low-oxygen conditions. This production technique results in a low-smoke, low-pollutant emission burn while producing charcoal (biochar) through pyrolysis. Biochar offers many environmental benefits, including nutrient retention in soil, a growth medium for microorganisms, and sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Biochar yields from this demonstration project will be applied in pilot projects such as stormwater filtration, soil amendment for poplar trees, urban street tree plantings, drought resilient turf for parks, and natural area restoration. The MWMC has the option to produce additional biochar for these benefits with the ample supply of wood chip waste from the 2021 Poplar Harvest. The chips themselves will be used for weed suppression as the trees regrow and for other beneficial uses.

Recovered Resource: Renewable Natural Gas

The MWMC has embarked on an exciting project to purify biogas to produce renewable natural gas (RNG). Biogas is a byproduct of the anaerobic digestion process, which treats and stabilizes solids at the MWMC's Wastewater Treatment Plant. Biogas is comprised of methane and carbon dioxide. The new equipment installed as part of this project "scrubs" the biogas to strip it of carbon dioxide and other contaminants, resulting in pure methane/natural gas.

In 2021, construction of biogas purification facilities on the MWMC's Wastewater Treatment Plant grounds was completed, along with NW Natural's receipt point facility. The MWMC first injected gas into the NW Natural pipeline in November 2021, becoming the first public agency in Oregon to do so. Now, optimization of the system continues with consistent continual gas recovery expected in the near future.

Upon full project launch in 2022, the majority of biogas the MWMC produces will be converted into RNG and then injected into NW Natural's pipeline system. RNG can help to offset dirtier fossil fuels, resulting in air quality benefits and emissions reductions. Previously, the MWMC utilized about 60% of its biogas to power the treatment plant, and the remaining 40% was flared to the atmosphere. This project will enable us to minimize flaring and beneficially utilize nearly all the energy the treatment plant generates.

Sustainability: Riparian Restoration

Through the MWMC's involvement with the Pure Water Partners and partnership with The Freshwater Trust, we have piloted riparian restoration projects covering nearly 6 acres over the past 10 years. These efforts involve planting native vegetation to restore natural shade processes to our waterways and help reduce temperature impacts on fish habitat. Riparian restoration projects are self-sustaining and increase in function over time, providing year-round water quality and ecological benefits.

In 2021, we helped fund a new riparian restoration project along the McKenzie River near Leaburg, where a large portion of the site was heavily burned during the fall 2020 Holiday Farm Fire and resulted in losses of trees and causing gaps in the riparian forest. The MWMC is a proud partner to further our clean water mission to directly support communities impacted by climate change.

In 2022, we will be expanding our watershed restoration efforts through the implementation of a regulatory Water Quality Trading Plan focused on our restoration projects through the Pure Water Partners. This will help the MWMC meet permit requirements for offsetting the thermal load contributed from the temperature of cleaned wastewater discharged to the Willamette River. Studies completed by state agencies show that temperature impacts from treated wastewater and industries, known as point sources, are minimal when compared to nonpoint sources like loss of riparian shade. We are pleased to advance our water quality trading program to provide a meaningful opportunity to further protect our local environment in alignment with our mission.

Capital Improvements Program (CIP)

The MWMC's CIP reflects a continued focus on design and construction of infrastructure to meet or exceed environmental regulations, in alignment with the MWMC's mission to protect the community's health and environment.

The CIP implements projects that are outlined in the MWMC Facilities Plan and Partial Facilities Plan Update, as well as projects that improve performance or expand treatment or hydraulic capacity of existing facilities. This includes several of the projects described above. Keep reading to learn about some of the capital projects that the MWMC team worked on in 2021.

Planning for Resiliency

In 2019, the MWMC hired a consultant to identify system vulnerabilities of the Wastewater Treatment Plant and other critical MWMC infrastructure, particularly for flooding and seismic disasters. The MWMC project team and consultant team finalized the MWMC's Disaster Mitigation and Recovery Plan in 2020 which includes follow-up recommendations estimated at $34.6 million.

In 2021, the MWMC awarded contracts to four consulting firms for on-call engineering services and disaster mitigation related to preparedness resiliency work.

In 2022, the MWMC plans to start work on resiliency follow-up work to help achieve "level of service" goals following a major flood or 9.0 magnitude earthquake. This resiliency planning and implementation effort will continue over the next several years and will be part of the MWMC's CIP.

Aeration Basin Efficiency

In 2020, we began working with engineering consultants to identify and evaluate opportunities to enhance energy efficiencies and performance of our aeration basins. Aeration basins use more energy than any other process at our plant, and they perform a critical treatment step: removal of fine particulate and dissolved organic matter by microorganisms that eat the pollutants out of the water. The micros need air to perform this important job optimally, and using large blowers to aerate the water in the basins takes energy.

Our consultants compared our Wastewater Treatment Plant's aeration basin energy efficiency with 47 other plants across the country and found that we are among the most energy efficient.

In 2021, we continued to work alongside consultants to identify the pieces of equipment associated with the aeration basins that are in greatest need of upgrades. This work will continue into 2022.

Maintenance & Safety

The MWMC is able to provide high-quality wastewater services by having reliable and resilient regional assets and infrastructure. This is accomplished by employing industry best practices in asset management, strategic budgeting, and a computerized maintenance management system. Through coordinated maintenance activities and capital planning efforts, the MWMC continues to make sound investments to construct and upgrade facilities to meet anticipated growth in our service area.

An important aspect of this work is preventive maintenance. In 2021, staff spent 16,500+ hours performing preventative maintenance on MWMC-owned infrastructure. We strive to complete at least 90% of preventive maintenance on time, and exceeded that at 96.6% in 2021.

The MWMC is committed to ensuring our facilities are well-maintained and safe for all staff, contractors, and the public. In 2021, we were recognized for our efforts by the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association (PNCWA). The PNCWA awarded the MWMC's regional wastewater treatment plant with their George W. Burke, Jr. Facility Safety Award, which recognizes a municipal or industrial wastewater facility for excellence in its active and effective safety program and safety record.

Community Education

In 2021, the MWMC worked hard to further its public information and education efforts, despite continued challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. We sponsored both virtual and in-person events, including the Lane County Fair, Willamette River Festival, and the McKenzie River Trust's Living River Exploration Days series.

We continued to engage with community members through our social media channels, seeing a 50% increase in Facebook followers, 192% increase in Instagram followers, and 14% increase in Twitter followers from January to December 2021. Across all three of these social media platforms, our social media posts received a total of 313,315 impressions. We also grew our eNewsletter subscribers by 80%.

With the pandemic again necessitating the cancellation of our in-person Clean Water University (CWU) field trip for the 2021-2022 school year, we offered our virtual CWU curriculum developed in 2020 again, allowing area fifth graders to learn about their local stormwater, drinking water, and wastewater systems from their classrooms. In 2021, we added several fun new elements to the CWU curriculum including a wastewater bingo game.

Additionally, the MWMC Communications team produced our new Community Partnership for Clean Water video to educate community members on the importance of clean water, how the community is connected to water, and the community-wide partnership to care for it. The video also touches on who the MWMC is, the MWMC's successes, and our mission. The video and digital campaign to promote it was recently named a National Environmental Achievement Award winner in the Public Information & Education: eMedia category by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies.

In 2022, the Communications team will continue to advance community education efforts, through tactics such as updates to our website, continued education campaigns focused on pollution prevention, Clean Water University, our social media accounts, and more. October 18, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, the primary federal law that governs water pollution. It was this legislation that established new requirements for wastewater treatment and a large part of what prompted the creation of the MWMC and the construction of our regional facilities. MWMC staff are planning to commemorate its 50th anniversary through several communications pieces.

Pollution Prevention

Each of us has a role to play in keeping our environment and local waterways healthy. Each year, we spend time educating individuals and businesses through pollution prevention campaigns for proper disposal of items like fats, oils, and grease (FOG), prescription drugs, toxic chemicals, and household items like disposable wipes and diapers. Each of these items can damage our shared wastewater infrastructure, such as pipes and pumps. We continue to share messages related to these topics across a variety of communications channels such as social media and our eNewsletter.

One tool we use to encourage community members to dispose of FOG properly is our FOG kit, which consists of a scraper and a plastic lid for a metal can, to help with transferring and storing FOG before tossing it in the trash. Though the pandemic affected our ability to distribute FOG kits, we were able to participate in Willamalane's drive-through Halloween event and distribute several hundred kits. Additionally, we included FOG kits in several of our social media giveaways this year and added a form to our website where community members can request a kit be mailed to them.

In 2021, Oregon became only the second U.S. state to pass a law requiring "Do Not Flush" labeling on disposable wipes. This will ensure that product packaging for items like baby wipes, makeup wipes, cleaning wipes, and other personal care wipes sold in Oregon clearly indicates that those products should not be flushed down toilets, as they can cause clogs in the wastewater system. The MWMC supported HB 2344, and is looking forward to it taking effect in July 2022. We continued to share messaging with community members about the importance of only flushing the three Ps (pee, poop, and toilet paper) for the protection of our shared wastewater pipes and pumps, public health, and the local environment. Only flushing the three Ps also helps to prevent costly repairs and cleanup at the property owner’s expense if the clog occurs on private property.

We also continued to inform the community about the importance of properly disposing of prescription drugs, for both protecting the environment and public health. Oregon implemented a new statewide Drug-Take-Back Program in 2021, through which there are now expanded options for safe and convenient disposal of prescription drugs. Community kiosk drop-off sites at pharmacies and other community facilities are available throughout the Eugene-Springfield area, and community members can also receive free mail-back materials sent directly to them. Learn more on our website.

Toxic chemicals are another item that can damage the wastewater collection system and environment if not properly disposed of. For disposing of household products such as paints, motor oils, and pesticides, community members can utilize Lane County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center for free. Learn more at the link below.

Industrial Pretreatment

The cities of Eugene and Springfield work closely together and in partnership with the MWMC to manage individual Industrial Pretreatment Programs. The goals of the Industrial Pretreatment Program are to protect our community's wastewater collection system, the MWMC's regional wastewater treatment plant, worker safety and health, and the environment. Certain pollutants in industrial wastewater can interfere with treatment operations, damage infrastructure including pipes and pumps, or pass directly through the treatment plant to our local waterways untreated. Through a regional approach to Industrial Pretreatment, we strive to prevent those negative outcomes by proactively working alongside our local businesses and industries.

Significant Industrial Users (SIUs) of the wastewater system are issued Wastewater Discharge Permits under the individual city programs. These permits require sampling and analysis, general compliance monitoring, and spill control plans for industry-specific pollutants of concern, as well as on-site facility inspections.

In 2021, Springfield staff collected and tested 256 industrial wastewater samples and administered 19 Wastewater Discharge Permits. Eugene staff collected and tested 237 samples and administered 25 Wastewater Discharge Permits. Additionally in 2021, Pretreatment staff submitted revisions to the MWMC Model Pretreatment Ordinance and received conditional approval by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). This preliminary approval remains conditional and not final until the public notice period is completed and DEQ provides final approval.

As part of the regional Industrial Pretreatment Program, the MWMC, in partnership with the cities of Eugene and Springfield, prioritizes recognition of permitted industries who make the necessary efforts to meet 100% compliance with their wastewater discharge permits. Each spring, we mail out Environmental Compliance Award certificates for the previous year. In total, 26 permitted industries were recognized in 2021 for maintaining 100% permit compliance during 2020. New in 2021, we presented the qualifying industries who have achieved 100% compliance for 10+ consecutive years with trophies. The industries recognized in 2021 were International Paper, PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center, and Swanson Group MFG.

Fiscal Management

Whether it's returned to the Willamette River or recycled for Biocycle farm irrigation, all used water or "wastewater" that comes from your home or business must first be cleaned; this is a federal requirement. Your monthly bill from the Springfield Utility Board (SUB) or Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) includes a wastewater fee, which is based on how much water goes down the drain for cleaning. Visit our website to learn more about how your regional and local wastewater fees are calculated.

A portion of all residential and industrial wastewater charges goes to either the City of Eugene or City of Springfield for upkeep of the local wastewater systems, and the regional portion of the bill comes to us for cleaning the water at our Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. SUB and EWEB serve as our billing agents. The rates charged to both Eugene and Springfield customers, between the regional and local fees fall below average when compared to other wastewater utilities in Oregon. We are committed to providing high quality wastewater services using fiscally responsible practices. To continually ensure economical use of funds, the MWMC has an annual audit of our financial records. Click here to read the latest version.