ACTIVITIES
April 2024

Hello and happy Spring to everyone! As we all are managing the garlic mustard, tansy ragwort, mole hills and tree removal, I wanted to take a few minutes to highlight a few things at the Corbett Water District.

First we would like to explain our water system, for those that do not know.

CWD draws water from both the mainstem and the south fork of Gordon Creek. The intakes are located on Larch Mountain and have a watershed surface area of approximately 6 square miles. The Treatment Plant is located on Larch Mountain on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property. Water is collected in the reservoir, before it is treated, and then moved into the distribution system. The Corbett Water District filters the water using slow sand filtration, and then it is disinfected with chlorine, which ensures that harmful bacteria and organisms in the water have been killed, and the water is safe to drink. Soda ash is also added into the water to raise the pH and alkalinity level, which reduces the amount of corrosion in plumbing. The treated water is distributed to our 1,083 meter connections (customers) for use. Drinking water is stored in 5 reservoirs with a combined capacity of over 1.8 million gallons. They are located around the district and provide an emergency water supply, as well as water for fire protection.

Larch Mt Reservoir Slope Stabilization

The reservoir on Larch Mt sits at the top of a large slope (on private property). When the reservoir overflows, the water runs down the ravine of the slope. Over the years, on several occasions, extreme erosion has occurred. There have been some mitigating efforts, but nothing permanent. During the last January Winter storm, the reservoir produced significant overflow and the ravine suffered extensive erosion. We have consulted with many experts and the property owner for a permanent resolution to this ongoing issue. We are pursuing grant funds from FEMA to help fund the slope stabilization project.

Grant Work

Our grant committee is working hard to obtain money for critical projects, including system optimization and a wildfire mitigation plan, which includes defensible space around our treatment plant. Defensible space is an area around a building that would be difficult for fire to burn.  Defensible space is an area without vegetation, downed wood or dead trees that might help the spread of wildfire during an event. We are looking for feedback on the wildfire mitigation plan through the end of May. A link to the plan is on our website.

ASR Well Project

We want to be resilient, and to that end, it is prudent to have an alternate source of water for the District. An Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) well is a water resources management technique for actively storing water underground during wet periods for recovery when needed, usually during dry periods. In 2019 we explored this option with a test well. Unfortunately, the engineering firm overseeing the project miss-read the findings, which ended in the failure of the site. We are in the process of litigating with the engineering firm to recover some of our money. The intention is to pursue the project again to ensure resiliency for our water system.

Cross Connection Control Program Registration

The state of Oregon requires us to mitigate potential hazards to our system. Backflow from private property into Corbett’s main system has the potential for deadly consequences. To ensure we are aware of any potential backflow, and confirm the hazard is mitigated, we send out an annual registration to our customers to identify possible issues. We appreciate your cooperation in completing this registration.

Sincerely,

Corbett Water District Commissioners

Kelly Piper, President Sara Grigsby, Treasurer
Angie Kimpo, Secretary Michel Arion
Dan Graff