Emergency planning experts advise Oregon residents to prepare to be on their own for a minimum of two weeks following a disaster. That means storing 14 days of water, food, medicine and other supplies.

Starting your kit from scratch can feel like a daunting task. If you are overwhelmed by the thought of preparing your home and family for a natural disaster, EWEB can help!

EWEB is once again offering their Pledge to Prepare, a 12-month blueprint for emergency preparedness. Each month through the year, EWEB shares a new set of tasks aimed at incrementally building your emergency supply kit.

More than 2,300 people have taken the Pledge so far.

Think of emergency preparedness like saving for a big purchase such as a house or a car. If you break it down into small steps you can take each month, at the end of the year, you will have reached your goal. That’s the idea behind the Pledge to Prepare.

When you join the program, you’ll receive a monthly email with step-by-step recommendations. To help you stay motivated and engaged in building your supplies through the year, EWEB will raffle off useful emergency preparedness supplies such as water storage containers, solar chargers, and first aid kits. There will be a new drawing every month.

To join the Pledge to Prepare and get started on your two-week emergency kit, visit eweb.org/pledge. Anyone can join, but you must be an EWEB customer to participate in the monthly prize drawings.

Supplies assembled by 2020 Pledge to Prepare participants Julie and Will, who said, “I am so happy we decided to join EWEB’s crusade to prepare for the unexpected! We have learned so much from this program and are appreciative for all of the information and encouragement. We feel very confident that we will be ready if any disaster may happen.”

Just as your household invests in emergency supplies, EWEB is making investments to make sure safe, reliable water continues to flow, especially in the days and weeks following a natural disaster or other emergency. This includes renovating the Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant, planning for a second filtration plant on the Willamette River, replacing water mains, improving storage tanks, and working with upriver partners to support fire recovery efforts and protect water quality in the McKenzie River.

EWEB is also developing neighborhood emergency water stations. Working with community partners, EWEB now has five, fully operational emergency wells:

Prairie Mountain School – 5305 Royal Ave.

Howard Elementary School – 700 Howard Ave.

Eugene Science Center – 2300 Leo Harris Parkway

Lane Events Center/Fairgrounds – 796 W 13th Ave.

Sheldon Fire Station – 2435 Willakenzie Rd.

Two additional sites are planned—near Churchill High School and near Roosevelt Middle School.

Using the map below, take a moment to locate the emergency water station nearest to your home. If disaster strikes our community’s water system and you need to obtain water from one of these distribution sites, you will need to bring your own storage containers. Learn how to clean and prepare water containers and find more emergency preparedness tips at eweb.org/emergencyprep.