HomeMy WebLinkAboutComments PLANNER 12/29/2000
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'[MEMORANDUM
City of S\lringfield
Date:
To:
From:
Subject:
t
December 29, 2000
Mike Kelly, City Manager
Sarah Summers, Planner II ,55'
Update on Drinking Water Protection Overlay District
ISSUE:
When the Drinking Water Protection (DWP) Overlay District was adopted, Council asked
for an update at the end of the year.
DISCUSSION:
The DWP Overlay District was designed to give prospective developers information
regarding properties that are within Springfield's wellhead protection areas, Article 17
of the Springfield Development Code sets standards for use of materials that are
hazardous to groundwater within the DWP District and outlines an application
process, The processes that were set in place seem to be achieving the goal initiaJly
envisioned by the Citizens Advisory Committee and later by the Planning Commission
and the City Council of protecting Springfield's drinking water. .
Nancy Moreno from SUB has ,written the attached summary of activities that are
related to the Drinking Water Protection Plan, Also attached is the first DWP Overlay
District application, The application is from Home Depot and shows that the processes
set up in Article 17 do actually worK,
In addition, the Periodic Review Work Task #5 was approved by the Department of
Land Conservation and Development.
RECEIVED
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SPRINGfIElD UTIUTY BOARD
Water Service Center
202 South 18th Street
Springfield, Oregon 97477-5240
(541) 726-2396
Fax (541) 747-7348
December 11,2000
Springfield City Hall
225 Fifth Street
Springfield, OR 97477
ATTENTION: SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT: ACTIVITIES RELATED TO SPRINGFIELD'S DRINKING WATER PROTECTION PLAN
Dear Councilors:
The Citizen Task Force that developed the City of Springfield Drinking Water Protection
Plan identified nine specific goals and one general goal as important to protecting
Springfield's source of drinking water. These goals include public education (goal 1),
adoption ofa Drinking Water Protection Overlay Zone (goal 2), formation of public-
private partnerships (goal 7) and Consider Additional Recommendations (goal 10),
Following, is a list of programs, activities, and processes that fall within these referenced
goals, These have been undertaken by local and state agencies, the public school system,
and community service organizations working together to help protect Springfield's
drinking water resource,
Goall- Public Education 1 Goal 7 - Formation of Public Private Partnerships:
Public School Programs and Activities
The Springfield Schools have developed water curriculums for all grade levels,
Resources for these school curriculums come primarily from grants provided by SUB and
EWEB, (Local agency and public school partnership) A portion of grant funding has been
used by the public schools to develop a web site that highlights current school activities
related to water. This site can be accesses at http://wet-well,sps,lane,edu,
The Thurston 1 Walterville Elementary science curriculum teaches students the basics of
the water cycle and provides hands on demonstrations and field studies that teach the
importance of water and integrates this information into other areas such as math,
writing, reading, social studies and art,
In June, a science fair was held at Thurston Elementary School that provided 4th and 5th
grade students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of water as a precious
resource, The science fair was attended by parents, representatives of the school board,
local press, SUB,and EWEB,
Some 440 high school and middle school students plus teachers and helpers were
involved in monitoring, sampling, and field analysis of surface and groundwater during
the 1999-2000 school year. This includes Springfield High School's monitoring of the
Millrace for the City of Springfield,
In addition, Thurston High School has developed plans for an analytical lab for
performing routine tests on water samples from private sources (residential wells).
Equipment for this lab was provided by the Lane County water quality lab that was lost
due to budget cuts, No recognition was requested for this gift, (County agency and
scholastic partnership)
Springfield Groundwater Guardians is another community resource for protection of
drinking water. This service organization consists of representatives from agencies,
businesses, and private citizens that work together on activities to promote local
groundwater protection, (Public private partnership)
Brochures produced by Springfield Groundwater Guardians were designed to provide
basic information regarding groundwater as a precious resource and outline the location
of Drinking Water Protection Areas (Overlay District) within the City, These brochures
were distributed to persons stopping by the Lane County Pollution Prevention Coalition
(P2C) booth at both the spring and fall 2000 Home Shows at Lane County Fairgrounds,
The P2C group, still another resource, is composed of the City of Springfield, SUB,
EWEB, the City of Eugene, DEQ, Lane County and LRAP A. (Inter-agency, community
service organization partnership)
Groundwater Guardian brochures and information regarding the importance of
groundwater and the Overlay District were made available to persons attending the SUB
- Groundwater Guardian booth at the Sony Disc Manufacturing Health and
Environmental Fair in April, 2000, (Public agency, community service organization and
private business partnership)
These same Brochures are available in the P2C kiosk located in the rotunda at Springfield
City HalL They are also available at SUB's main office and water engineering, at RWD
and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce,
Groundwater Guardians has developed DWP area signs to be located at the 20 year
TOTZ, Approximately 25 signs will be placed adjacent to or in the right-of-way of State,
County and City arterial over the next several years, These signs will alert persons
entering the Overlay District that they are in a drinking water supply area, (Inter-agency
and community service organization partnership)
A Groundwater Guardian Small Business Outreach Program was initiated this falL This
outreach program. uses volunteer mentors from larger businesses in Springfield, These
mentors are trained environmental personnel that are available to assist smaller
businesses by providing non-regulatory tips for reducing their risk of polluting
groundwater, The DEQ technical Support program provided training for these volunteers
and published the forms to be used by the mentors during site visits to businesses, The
Springfield Chamber of Commerce, SUB, the City of Springfield and Sony Disc
Manufacturing provided meeting space during the development of this program, (Public
agen~y, community service organization and private business partnership)
The basis of the Small Business Outreach Program was presented to a group ofDEQ
representatives at a conference at OSU and at an A WW A conference in March, 2000, A
follow up presentation is scheduled for an A WW A conference in 2001.
A presentation detailing the development and implementation of the Small Business
Outreach program was also presented at the 2000 Annual Groundwater Foundation
Conference in Nebraska in November, A presentation about the Thruston High School
science program that integrates biology and chemistry with the study of water was also
presented at this conference, (Public, private, community service organization and
scholastic partnerships)
Springfield Groundwater Guardians is pleased to announce that Lane County has been
selected as the site for the 2002 Annual Groundwater Foundation Conference, This
conference will be an opportunity for Springfield to share all the progress we have made
in protecting our drinking water with representatives from around the country, This will
also be a great opportunity to involve both local and regional participation in recognizing
the benefits of protecting our drinking water supply,
Goal 2 - Adopt a Drinking Water Protection Overlay Zone (District)
An Overlay District surrounding the wellfields in Springfield was adopted in May, 2000
as part of Article 17 of the City of Springfield Land Use Development Code, Following is
an account of the recognized effects of Article 17 on Businesses Development within the
Overlay District.
Affect on Local Businesses
Star Rental- Evaluated a site at 28th & Olympic for use as a heavy equipment storage 1
maintenance facility, After reviewing their chemical use plans, they decided that their
needs would better be served at another location, Another good site in Springfield was
located and they called before purchase to verify it was a safe distance from the
wellheads,
SUB - Is negotiating with the owners of the same 28th & Olympic site (above) for
construction of a new substation to serve the WalMart and other new development in the
area,
WalMart - Has decided against development of a service station at the NE corner of the
old airport property close to the I-year TOTZ and has agreed to cover their outside lawn
chemical storage areas,
Home Depot - Has requested information on requirements for locating within the
Overlay District so that they can address wellhead protection measures in their
development plans,
Kingsford - Has submitted plans for new development on their existing site and are
nearing completion of their rail transfer facility,
Schaudt, Stemm & Wild, Inc. - Has requested info on use .of dry wells within the
TOTZs that are west ofI-5 in the Eugene UGB, (Referred to us by the City of Eugene)
Misc. Realtors - Have requested info related to the requirements for new business in the
Overlay District.
Other Jurisdictional Activities
City of Eugene - Department of Public Works is actively referring developers to SUB
and the City of Springfield for any restrictions on storm water related issues within
portions of Springfield's TOTZs that fall within the City of Eugene jurisdiction, Plans for
setbacks to protect intermittent streams in Eugene have been put on hold due to questions
surrounding the application of Oregon Measure 7, The City of Eugene Planning
Department has been tracking the development of Springfield's DWP, but has no
immediate plans for changes to their City Code,
Lane County - Is currently developing land use regulations designed for all rural lands
that are located outside of urban growth boundaries of incorporated cities in Lane
County, The proposed changes would apply to the Upper Willamette Spring Chinook
Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) which includes lands within the McKenzie, Long
Tom, Mainstream Willamette, Middle Fork Willamette, and Coast Fork Willamette
watersheds, Among these proposed regulations is adoption of groundwater and surface
water protection standards for handling, storage and sale of specific hazardous materials
within adopted Drinking Water Protection Plan time-of-travel zones of public water
systems within the ESU, If adopted, this will effectively extend Springfield's Drinking
Water Protection Plan beyond City limits to include all areas within the established time-
of-travel zones in Lane County,
Goal 10 - Consider Other Recommendations
Related Activities
Underground Injection Rule Task Force - From November, 1999 through May, 2000
SUB represented the interests of local government as a task force member charged with
formulating new Underground Injection Control (UlC) Rules for the state of Oregon,
These changes were required by federal EPA and will be administered by Oregon DEQ,
The new UIC rules will effect large septic systems, use of drill holes, direct ground
disposal of waste, and the use of drywells for storm water discharge, Both the City of
Springfield and the City of Eugene have updated throughout the process and have
provided feedback and comments to the DEQ,
EWEB - Is actively pursuing measures to protect their McKenzie River drinking water
source from activities that could pose a risk of contamination, Their draft Drinking Water
Protection Plan is being reviewed in preparation for certification,
Senate Bill 1010 Advisory Committee - Since April, 2000 SUB has represented the
interests of local public utilities and government as a local advisory committee member
charged with developing a framework of strategies for agricultural lands within the
Southern Willamette Valley Agricultural Water Quality Management Area (McKenzie,
Middle Fork and Coast Fork of the Willamette Rivers) that will ensure that conditions on
agricultural and rural lands do not contribute to water pollution or diminished water
quality ,
Respectfully submitted,
(~ y ~----~
Nancy L. Moreno
Wellhead Protection Inspector - SUB
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wR' erties outside the city limits have
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,tic tanks, Currently, those near
l~ead Protection Areas are not
''ted to be a problem for bacteria,
::t;S, or nitrates, but chemicals that
,', ll,rp.ped or flushed into septic tanks
al~J!iach into groundwater.
.,,~ Nitrates from septic tanks move
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a, CI,l,fthrough soil and can cause
,-Ceins for private residential wells,
gi~ater than 10 milligrams per liter
-~bj
,.wed in drinking water,
uried or dumped hazardous
'J.i)'> can leach into the soiL
;>;ar "Qus materials, including
iti.veproducts should not be
'f9. enter the storm drain, They
_e taken to the Lane County
," o'us Waste Collection Center
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Most herbicides and pesticides are soluble
and wash through the soil readily, Near rivers
where the soil is porous and the aquifer is
shallow, monitoring is especially important,
To date, no pesticide has been found in
drinking water wells.
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Over-use of pesticides and fertilizers on lawns
and landscaping should be avoided,
Multiplied by thousands of households, this
risk becomes significant. Use sparingly, only
if absolutely necessary and be sure to follow
package directions with care,
Per acre, farmers use from 50 to 300
pounds of nitrogen fertilizer, which is soluble
and travels through the ground relatively fast
and even faster with frequent irrigation,
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By being aware and learning more about
protecting groundwater, you are already
helping to solve the problem, If you have
questions or are interested in ;oining
Springfield Groundwater Guardians call
726-2396.
SPRINGFIELD
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The Groundwater Foundati ,1
':s a loc:f;i'team of
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no.,private agencies and
t"~ens, the Springfield
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liundwater Guardians
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The Groundwater Foundation is an intemationalnon-pro'{i/
organization dedicated to edCllating people about the naft;
of grol/lldwater. Honored by the United Nations for its-aJj",i
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the Foundation teaches that groundwater is an important;i9. r-<i
drinking water and irrigation worldwide, and a crucial pd,t ~
watershed ecosystems.
Springfield Groundwater Guardians was established in 1 -
It is critical that we safeguard the wellhead
protection areas, Contaminates and toxins
can enter the aquifer in the following ways:
~tivities of the group
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r,' dedicated to
~ucating the public
1'l6ut what groundwater
show it functions, and
J1fat can be done to
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tJuce the risk of
t'rlundwater pollution.
e~lizing that, once
dUuted, all the time and
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,dney in the world are
o~ enough to make
r.'\ undwater pure again,
ost people are anxious
n(f,~eady to learn what
,,,can do to protect
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ource.
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Common chemicals such as solvents used
by many businesses can pose a risk to the
drinking water. Small drops and spills can
sink through the soil to the water and
persist for years, Some of these chemicals
are both hard to locate and very expensive
to clean up,
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~. Rainbow Water District
and Springfield Utility
I Board (SUB) maintain and
~ ~~perate ground,water wells
that s\1Pply drinking ~ter to SprIngfIeld, The
wells draw water from ah unconfined aquifer
consisting of water in spaces between
underground particles of sand and graveL There
is nothing to prevent pollutants from the surface
from reaching the aquifer. Groundwater may be
as little as 10-20' below the surface, The areas
around those wells, scientifically determined to
have risk for potential contamination, are
defined as "Wellhead Protection Areas,"
... Well or
wellfield
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20 years
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Rail car sidings with unspecified chemicals,
chemical transport trucks parked along
highways, and chemical spills due to
accidents during transport pose a risk to the
wells, Wells located close to major
transportation corridors are especially
vulnerable to potential contamination.
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