Item A: Joint Meeting with Eugene Water & Electric Board

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For more information contact Mike McCann, Carmen-Smith License Implementation Manager at (541) 685-7379. Veneta Pipeline Construction Update In April 2010, EWEB entered into a contract to sell wholesale water to the City of Veneta. Ground water currently serves as Veneta’s sole water supply source, with five ground water wells presently owned and operated by the City. However studies have indicated that the aquifer has a limited ability to provide sufficient water to meet future needs. The contract with EWEB provided certainty that Veneta could obtain a safe and reliable source of water by building a 9.7 mile pipeline to the Eugene city limits and connecting into the EWEB water distribution system. Wholesale water supply contracts benefit EWEB customers. Treating and delivering water comes with high fixed overhead costs. Spreading those costs over a wider retail and wholesale base helps lower costs and minimize the magnitude of future rate increases. Currently, wholesale water sales represent about 8 percent of EWEB’s total annual water sales. Two of the three water rights EWEB holds for the McKenzie are perfected. The utility must demonstrate to state water authorities that it can put the volume granted under the third water right to beneficial use within a reasonable time frame. Selling surplus water to wholesale customers helps EWEB show there is a need for that water. The proposed project consists of connecting a new a 24-inch diameter water line to an existing EWEB main at West 11th Avenue (Highway 126) and Terry Street in west Eugene. The new water line will run approximately 9.7 miles to the City of Veneta Public Works yard. Installation will be primarily by trenching along the roadside, with boring used in crossing sensitive habitats (Coyote Creek on Cantrell Road, Job Swale and the West Fork of Coyote Creek on Perkins Road). The only portion of the 9.7-mile long project that will have a temporary impact to wetlands is the 1.7-mile length alongside Highway 126. No permanent wetland impacts will occur with the proposed project. The City of Veneta has secured ARRA funds to help offset the construction costs, and is currently in preliminary design phase for this project. The City anticipates that it will start the construction bidding process in late March of 2012. EWEB’s portion (approximately 1 mile along the north side of Highway 126 from Terry Street west to Greenhill Road) of the construction project will be bid around this same time. The preliminary schedule is that construction will begin in July of 2012 with an expected completion data of September 2013. In times of water shortage or drought, city of Eugene customers would have first priority to the water. Under the contract, Veneta will maintain a secondary source of water in case of EWEB water shortage or curtailment. For more information contact Brad Taylor, EWEB Water Planning Supervisor at (541) 685-7385). 6