McKenzie River, Oregon, Source Water Quality Protection

BACKGROUND

Drinking water for the city of Eugene, Oregon, is drawn from the McKenzie River, a high-quality source that is nonetheless threatened by urban, agricultural, and forestry land uses upstream as well as by changes in water management in the watershed. The Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) developed a Drinking Water Source Protection plan for the McKenzie River Watershed that includes comprehensive monitoring and evaluation of potential threats to drinking water sources.

In 2002, the USGS Oregon Water Science Center began working with EWEB to monitor dissolved pesticides in the McKenzie River at the EWEB drinking water intake and upstream, and in tributaries draining to the McKenzie. In 2007, the USGS and EWEB entered into a 5-year agreement for continued cooperation in efforts to assess and monitor many of these upstream threats, and to further understand the relative risks posed by these threats relative to potential management actions.

The primary objective of this study is to study threats to drinking water quality and watershed health in the McKenzie River Basin in order to provide EWEB with information necessary to manage and protect its drinking water sources. Specific objectives or study elements may be modified from year to year as agreed upon in discussions between EWEB and USGS. The current objectives are:

• Collect semiannual storm runoff pesticide data
• Investigate sources of natural organic matter and disinfection by-product precursors
• Sample for pesticides and organic wastewater compounds using passive samplers
• (Potential) Sample for pharmaceuticals and sewage/septics in well water in shallow aquifer systems
• Provide model support and development to help EWEB address a variety of management alternatives for McKenzie River water quality

For a more complete description of the study, follow this link.

DATA

Raw, preliminary data from passive samplers

MEDIA

Eugene Register Guard reports on the USGS-EWEB McKenzie River study