CwM recently began working with a small rural wastewater Special District located in central Lane County after successfully developing a $100,000 grant application to support the District. The funding is part of Representative Cedric Hayden’s Rural Infrastructure Special District Grant, which in turn is related to the national Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The District and its wastewater treatment facility have been in operation since the early 1980s and currently serve about 700 residents. The treatment facility utilizes a large drainfield, originally constructed under an EPA grant, to dispose of treated effluent to the subsurface. The District is currently in need of a new Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF) permit to regulate and manage its continued operations. CwM is assisting in the process of obtaining a new WPCF permit by characterizing hydrogeologic conditions at the drainfield site and monitoring shallow groundwater.

*CwM staff locating and characterizing monitoring wells (left) and assessing the drainfield area (right).*

CwM staff took the Sanitary District site visit as an opportunity to to some exploring in the upper Willamette River watershed. The District’s treatment facility is located below the Dexter Lake Dam. Dexter Lake is the lower of two adjacent dammed lakes on the Middle Fork of the Willamette River, the other being Lookout Point Lake and Dam. The lakes were constructed in 1953-1954 by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The beautiful lakes and surrounding parks provide many opportunities for fishing, boating, rowing, horseback riding, and biking. The two dams also provide flood control for the upper Willamette Valley and produce hydroelectric power for the area.