Eugene/Springfield Water Pollution Control Facility 1984-1991

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Page 2 The objective of the 1972 Clean WaterActwas to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters by elimi- nating the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters and by achieving a water quality level that would protect fish, shellfish, and wildlife. Because the Willamette River serves as a source of drinking water, irrigation, and recreation for the western part of the state of Oregon, the Oregon Depart- ment of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the state enforcement agency for the act, ordered strict wastewater discharge standards for Eugene and Springfield. Under the act, publicly owned treatment works could apply for federal grants to support planning and construction of regional or "area-wide" waste treatment facilities. Because the cities of Eugene andSpringfieldoperatedseparate txeatmentplants rather than regional facilities they did not qualify for grants to upgrade or build new facilities. Be- cause of this, the two cities decided to work to- gether on aregional plan. A 1974 needs study, jointly conducted by Eugene and Springfield, concluded that neither city's ex- isting trickling filter treatment plant was capable ofineeting the stricterstandards. Bothcities'plants were already experiencing seasonal overloads and were rapidly approaching design capacity. In 1977, Eugene and Springfield conducted an- other study -the "208 Plan for Eugene/Spring- fieldMetropolitan WasteTreatmentManagement Alternatives" - to determine alternatives to ad- dress the problem. City officials decided that con- struction of anew regional treatment plant would be the most cost-effective method to comply with the new pollution restrictions and to serve sewage disposal needs of the growing region. ^ CONSTRUCTION Construction management allowed the facilities to be designed and bid out in separate small pack- ages. Atotal of 37 treatment plant construction and equipment contracts were awarded in this fashion, plus a dozen other off site contracts for project components such as sludge management, cannery wastewater management, pump stations, force mains, interceptors, and rehabilitation work. Section A: INTRODUCTION /HISTORY That same year, the cities of Eugene and Spring- field and Lane County adopted an agreement to form the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC). The new agency would serve as the federal grant recipient and would manage the design and construction of the new regional system. One obj ective was to reduce by more than one-half the amount of pollutants being released into the surface streams of the Willamette. The planfor the new system called for an activated sludge treat- mentplant inEugene with a capacity of 49 million gallonsperday (MGD), nearly twice the combined capacity of the old Eugene and Springfield trick- ling filter plants. The design of the new system also included interceptors up to 78 inches in diameter to transport sewage from Springfield, two major collection system pump stations, sewer rehabilita- tion work, separate disposal facilities for cannery waste, and an off site sludge management facility. Cost of the new system was estimated at $105 million. In September 1977, the MWMC received the first installment of a grant from the federal Environ- mental ProtectionAgency (EPA) thatwouldeven- tually finance 75 percent of the project. In May 1978,1oca1 voters agreed to finance the remainder of the costs with a $29.5 million bond sale, and a county service district was formed. Ground breaking for the regional system was held in June 1979 at the site of the existing City of Eugene treatment plant, located on 100 acres at 410 River Avenue. The main construction of the plant occurred between 1979 and 2984.