Enter the SEN Summer Digital Photo Contest by Sept. 10

We live in one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in one of the most beautiful states — we want to show off what our neighbors see!

One Grand Prize $100 courtesy of SEN, featuring “best-of” ribbon winners in five categories:

• Photographer is under 17
• Wildlife, insects, birds. etc.
• People and pets
• Architecture and infrastructure
• Natural surroundings

Rules: Amateur photographers of all ages residing or working in SEN can submit up to 1 digital photograph in each category to SEN to soeast.eug@gmail.com by Sept. 10.

Photographs should be taken anywhere in South Eugene (south of 30th within city limits) to win! In your submission, include the amateur photographer’s name, phone number, address, and a brief description of what has been photographed. Those under 18 must have their parent/guardian’s permission to submit entries or appear in a submitted photograph.

SEN may use any submission to appear on its website or printed materials, and the photographer retains all rights. Board members are ineligible to enter.

July 29, 2022

by the EWEB East 40th Water Storage Project Team

Earthwork and tank subgrade preparation is complete and dump truck hauling is mostly over for now. Crews are currently working on installing rebar and forms for the floor of Tank 1 in preparation for concrete. For the next year or so, it will be primarily concrete work at the site.

Watch a time-lapse video of work at the site during the month of July 2022.

What to expect

Both of the 7.5 million gallon tanks will be constructed concurrently, beginning with the floors, then walls, then roof slabs.

The floors (and eventually roof) slabs are the largest concrete pours that will happen, meaning lots of trucks running continuously.

The floors will be constructed in quadrants and will take a total of four concrete pours for each floor slab. In total, each floor slab will require approximately 800 cubic yards of concrete.

The first major pour will occur on Friday, Aug. 5 and will require approximately 20 truckloads of concrete. Note this date may need to be shifted depending on progress and availability of concrete and the required staff.

The trucks will be safely staged near the site, starting around 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 5.

You can expect a few more construction workers on pour days and they will be arriving a little earlier than normal to be ready. Crews will arrive at the project site around 6:30-6:45 a.m.

At 7 a.m. the first truckload of concrete will arrive, and then trucks will come and go in a continuous stream about every 10 minutes through early afternoon.

After Aug. 5, the next scheduled pour dates are tentatively Monday, Aug. 15 and Thursday, Aug. 18.

Once the floors are poured, the frequency of pours will increase to several a week, but each pour will be smaller–just a couple of trucks per day.

The concrete trucks and pumps will create engine noise and a loud humming sound. In between pours, while concrete is setting, it will be fairly quiet at the site.

Reminders regarding general construction impacts:

• We will only do work during hours that the City of Eugene noise ordinance allows and we will communicate work hours as the work progresses.
• Truck noise such as beeping is not easily mitigated as that is an OSHA-required safety feature and needs to be loud enough for someone to hear while wearing hearing protection. When possible, trucks will be routed around the site to avoid the need to back up.
• While we can’t anticipate or mitigate all impacts, we will be responsive to your questions, suggestions, or concerns. Please reach out to us directly so that we can quickly address any issues that arise by email at water.storage@eweb.org or by phone at 541-685-7899.

Time-lapse cameras capturing construction

Cameras have a special ability to help us see what the human eye can’t. Infrared spectrum cameras like the Wildfire Alert camera EWEB recently helped install can detect heat from wildfires. Macro lenses and high frame rate cameras can help us zoom in to the minuscule and slow down what’s too fast to detect. Time-lapse cameras speed up time and let us observe changes that might be imperceptible otherwise.

Thanks to two new time-lapse cameras, we can now view months of construction at the E. 40th project site in a matter of seconds. Watch the walls rise from the earth. Watch the shadow of the crane spin like a sundial. See the construction crews zip around like a team of ants.

We will share new videos every month.

Watch a time-lapse video of work at the site during the month of July 2022.

Contact us with questions

If you have questions or input, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the project team at 541-685-7899 or water.storage@eweb.org. Emails sent to this address will reach:

• Laura Farthing, Project Manager/Senior Civil Engineer
• Jen Connors, Communications Supervisor
• Jeannine Parisi, Customer Relationship Manager
• Wally McCullough, Water Engineering Supervisor

EWEB water storage construction will impact local traffic

by the East 40th Water Storage Project Team

Beginning the week of July 5, 2022, an EWEB contractor will excavate a series of small holes to locate underground utilities from 34th and Hilyard to the construction area south of 40th and Patterson.

This survey work is necessary to design and construct the 36-inch water pipe that will eventually deliver water from the new storage tanks to homes and businesses throughout Eugene.

The utility location work will last about two weeks and will primarily take place Monday and Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., however intermittent work may occur outside of these hours if necessary.

What to expect

• Construction trucks, flaggers, lane closures, and restricted street parking for this stretch of Patterson, East 40th, and Hilyard, including along Tugman Park
• Loud equipment noise
• Possible delays for cars leaving or entering residences along the route

Once the survey work begins, the contractor will make every effort to maintain access to the street and driveways, but residents might experience delays coming and going.

Construction of the pipeline will cause additional traffic impacts during the spring-summer of 2023.

Additional updates

The excavation and tank subgrade preparation stages of work are nearly complete. The large excavation equipment will leave the site within a couple of weeks.

The tank construction contractor Skaar Construction, Inc. will arrive onsite with a crane and other equipment at the end of June.

Expect an increase in truck traffic as deliveries of rebar and piping arrive starting the week of June 27.

In early July, work will begin on installing forms and rebar for the inlet/outlet piping that will be encased in concrete under the floor slab.

Rockhounds treated to geology tour

In early June, a group of retired people interested in learning about the geological history of Oregon contacted Project Manager Laura Farthing. Initially, the group was hoping to get a rock from the site so they could study it as part of a lesson in the origin of Eugene’s south hills. But Laura, who has a background in construction, civil engineering and environmental studies, can’t resist the chance to “nerd out” with anyone who is curious about the site. So she invited the group for a tour!

“Hands down one of the best parts of my job is engaging with community members who share an interest in science, infrastructure and environmental issues,” said Laura. “Special thanks to site neighbor Jim for coming out to the tour and sharing all of his knowledge of geology and the site–he was really the expert in the room.”

Contact us with questions

If you have questions or input, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the project team at 541-685-7899 or water.storage@eweb.org. Email messages sent to this address will reach:

Laura Farthing, Project Manager/Senior Civil Engineer
Jen Connors, Communications Supervisor
Jeannine Parisi, Customer Relationship Manager
Wally McCullough, Water Engineering Supervisor

Original email in PDF format:

Eugene Ready! Exercise May 22 at Alton Baker Park

PathFinderEX and Eugene Neighborhood Associations are scheduled to hold Eugene Ready!, a disaster preparedness exercise, May 22, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. , at Alton Baker Park in Eugene, Ore.

The event, which is supported by the Eugene Community and Neighborhood Matching Grant, is scheduled to be held at 100 Day Island Road, in Eugene, Ore. This event was originally scheduled for Sept. 12, 2021 at Amazon Park, in Eugene, Ore., but postponed due to high case levels of COVID-19.

Event attendees will participate in valuable training in emergency and disaster planning, team coordination, and neighborhood response coordination. Participating vendors include American Red Cross Cascades Chapter, Med-Tech Resources LLC, Western Shelter and EMT Associates.

“The hope is that by holding neighborhood events like this, communities can better know what to do, what resources they already have, and what goes into planning for an emergency or disaster,” said Chris Webb, Director of Community Outreach for PathFinderEX.

As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, PathFinderEX accepts tax-deductible contributions which help community members train and prepare for disasters.

PathFinderEX provides disaster preparedness tools, online training, and in-person exercises to build a community of disaster response professionals, and to empower individuals to become fully-capable community responders.

For more information, contact Nick Choy, Corporate Communications Director at nchoy@pathfinderex.org or 503-784.9295.

Also visit PathFinderEX social media pages at:
Blog: https://www.pathfinderex.org/articles
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pathfinderex/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pathfinderex/?viewAsMember=true