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March 2023 State of the Water District Update

Posted on March 29, 2023

A river, charred trees, construction equipment, and a mountain landscape, indicating recovery work after a wildfire.

The Water District is currently undergoing an engineering feasibility study to determine what is needed to bring the District up to current standards, what repairs are needed, and how best to accomplish this. This project is being overseen by the Water Board with the help of Lane County, Civil West, Rainbow Water and RCAC. The preliminary study is due out in mid-April. The Blue River Water District has had a number of accomplishments in the past year.

First, we welcomed Jim Parks as our Superintendent. Jim has done a wonderful job over the past eight months and is responsible for a great deal of the accomplishments listed below.

The Water District is currently undergoing an engineering feasibility study to determine what is needed to bring the District up to current standards, what repairs are needed and how best to accomplish this. This project is being overseen by the Water Board with the help of Lane County, Civil West, Rainbow Water and RCAC. The preliminary study is due out mid-April.

What the study has done to date:

  • 99% of all valves have been GPS located and marked
  • 98% of all water meters have been GPS located and marked
  • All water line maps have been updated. New maps will be created during the rebuild
  • Current usage has been measured and future needs are being calculated

The pump houses are under repair / rebuild. (Both pump houses were destroyed in the fire)

Current status:

  • Both pump motors were replaced. The Well pumps are in great shape. A recent report from Jamie Porter, rainbow Water District, says “the system is very robust”
  • A new computer system (SCADA) was installed to run and automate the pumps
  • The architectural drawings are finished for the pump houses and we are working to get the electrical drawings finished so we can put the project out for tender. We are hoping to get the pump houses finished by summer
  • We are contracted with Rainbow Water District to help with this project as well as hydrant repair and cleaning

Work to date and overall status:

  • Rainbow Water District has been contracted to do our billing
  • 20+ water meters have been replaced
  • Both School meters have been replaced (1-3” and 1-2”). This led to finding 400,000 gallons of unaccounted-for water
  • We are currently poised to change out any remaining commercial meters
  • A Flowmeter was installed at the Pump location
  • Both reservoirs were inspected by divers and found to be in good shape
  • Transponders are being replaced to more accurately track reservoir levels
  • Tank #2 is currently offline but will be brought back online this spring
  • We currently have 102 active services
  • A Website has been developed to better communicate with customers (See below)
  • Email contact and phone number are now available (See below)
  • Monthly water testing was reestablished
  • Monthly meter readings reestablished
  • 2 major long-standing leaks were repaired in Blue River
  • A selection of tools and equipment necessary to run a professional district has been purchased

Please feel free to contact the Water District If you have any questions or concerns. You are also encouraged to join our public monthly board meetings. 1st Wednesday of the month at 6pm, via Zoom. You join by computer or by phone. (Link can be found on Blue River Water District’s Facebook page)

We hope to see you at the next meeting.

Blue River Water District

Blueriverwaterdistrict.com

contact@blueriverwaterdistrict.com

Tel: 458-459-0048