Environmental Finance Center, EPA Region 10, Boise State UniversityAlbany, Lebanon and Sweet Home, Oregon Location The cities of Sweet Home, Albany and Lebanon are located in Linn County Oregon in the South Santiam Sub-Basin. The upper portion of the South Santiam River flows through forested areas and over rugged terrain. The lower reaches flow through agricultural areas and then densely developed urban areas. Water Supply The project includes 3 public water systems for the communities of Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home. These communities utilize the South Fork of the Santiam River below Foster Dam as their source of drinking water. The surface water characteristic qualifies the resource as highly vulnerable to contamination. The drinking water for the city of Albany is supplied by an intake of the Albany Santiam Canal and serves approximately 39,000 citizens. The drinking water for Lebanon, about fifteen miles southeast of Albany, is supplied by an intake on South Santiam Canal and services approximately 11,000 citizens. The drinking water of Sweet Home, about 30 miles southeast of Albany, is supplied by an intake on the South Santiam River and serves approximately 8,000 citizens. Source Water Assessment: The Source Water Assessments have been completed for the cities of Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home. The source water assessment has been a valuable resource for the group. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) completed Sweet Homes Source Water Assessment Report in February 2001. Albany and Lebanon both completed their assessments with the assistance of ODEQ in January 2002. Local Team The Environmental Finance Center (EFC) worked with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) to identify the communities of Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home for assistance in developing a unified drinking water protection plan. The local team, the South Santiam Drinking Water Protection Committee includes members from the cities of Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home, Linn County, the South Santiam Watershed Council, Linn Soil and Water Conservation District, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon Department of Agriculture, US Army Corps of Engineers, and the public. Priority Contamination Threats Major threats to the community’s water supplies include toxics from pesticides, fertilizers, UST and industrial uses; microbial contaminants from septic systems and wastewater facilities (overflows); and sediments from stormwater runoff. In addition, there are turbidity problems in the South Santiam River associated with forest practices, dam release and agricultural practices. Protection Measures The Draft South Santiam Drinking Water Protection Plan includes a list of outreach and management measures for the community to implement to reduce the risk of contamination from agricultural/forestry, residential/municipal, commercial/industrial and miscellaneous land uses. The plan identifies additional organizations in the communities to partner with in order to implement these measures. The Plan has not been adopted. New Mexico EFC 2445 Alamo SE Suite 300 Albuquerque, NM 87106 The New Mexico Environmental Finance Center is a program of the Institute of Engineering Research and Applications at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. 
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Environmental Finance Advisory Board EPA Environmental Finance Program EPA Region 6 Drinking Water Program |
