McKenzie is still among the best

The Eugene Water & Electric Board has received an "Outstanding" performance rating from the Oregon Health Authority Drinking Water Services.

To qualify for this rating, the health authority conducted a comprehensive on-site review of EWEB's drinking water source (the McKenzie River), treatment and storage facilities, distribution system, operation and maintenance procedures, and the utility's water quality monitoring program to evaluate EWEB's capability of providing safe water to the people of Eugene

To be recognized as an Outstanding Performer, a water system must not have any contamination violations in the last five years, and no more than one monitoring or reporting violation in the past three years. EWEB had none. A water system also must have no significant deficiencies or rule violations during the current water system survey and no waterborne disease outbreak to the water system in the last five years. Again, EWEB had none.

Most public water systems are reviewed by the OHA every three years, but Eugene's next review won't occur until 2026 due to EWEB's high performance.

"We're proud of our drinking water here in Eugene," said acting Water Operations Manager Ray Leipold. "This designation is not easy to obtain, and it represents the high value that EWEB staff and our customers-owners place on safe, clean water."

EWEB delivers approximately 8.5 billion gallons of drinking water to Eugene homes and businesses every year using a source-to-tap model. The comprehensive approach consists of source water protection programs, a multi-step treatment process, and management 800 miles of pipe, 25 pump stations and 22 storage tanks.