upper willamette Partner in Water Conservation:
MWMC PromoTES Class A Recycled Water Use
Willamette Riverkeeper takes pride in our Willamette River Festival partner, Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC), as a primary partner in education and water conservation. This year, MWMC was awarded $4M in federal drought resiliency funds for Class A recycled water development, by the Bureau of Reclamation this past May. The $4 million came from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. This money will be used to upgrade existing infrastructure for water filtering, disinfection, storage, and conveyance. Once completed, the MWMC can deliver up to 1.3 million gallons of Class A recycled water daily for public works and industrial uses by community partners rather than pulling water from the Willamette River or using drinking water.
Recycled water has a variety of applications that can help reduce the impacts on our rivers by providing water for landscaping, irrigation, and industrial processes that can consume high volumes of water or place strains on drinking water systems. The MWMC historically produces Class D recycled water, which is used to irrigate its poplar tree farm as part of its natural treatment system for wastewater. In 2023, the MWMC utilized more than 46 million gallons of Class D recycled water. Class A capabilities will allow the community to expand that use to virtually any other application not requiring potable water.
The mission of the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission is to protect the community’s health and the environment by providing high-quality wastewater services to the Eugene Springfield metropolitan area in partnership with Eugene, Springfield, and Lane County. Local representatives from each regional partner–Lane County, and cities of Springfield and Eugene– serve on the Commission.
The MWMC has progressively explored opportunities to expand recycled water usage over the past 15 years. With the Bureau of Reclamation grant, the program is becoming a reality. Learn more information at https://mwmcpartners.org/capital-improvements/recycled-water/.
Additionally, this past spring, the MWMC launched an Advisory Network of community members to help guide their continuing development of Class A Recycled Water. The Advisory Network will help inform the MWMC of where and how recycled water may be best used so that the development can integrate with the identified community's needs.
If you work in the Eugene Springfield area and have a business or professional interest in the availability of Class A Recycled Water, consider taking a few minutes to complete this MWMC survey.
