EUGENE, Ore. — The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) has taken a major step toward building a second water treatment plant, advancing plans for a new facility on the Willamette River designed to improve the region’s long-term water reliability and emergency preparedness.
During a meeting Tuesday, EWEB’s Board of Commissioners gave preliminary direction to pursue construction of a treatment plant capable of producing 30 million gallons of water per day. Utility officials said the facility would provide enough capacity to take the aging Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant offline for inspections and major repairs while continuing to meet customer demand.
The proposed plant is expected to cost about $392 million, making it the largest water infrastructure project undertaken by EWEB since the Hayden Bridge plant was built in 1950…