This vital initiative at the Sweet Home Water Treatment Plant aims to enhance the Sweet Home water infrastructure, particularly addressing the challenges posed during Green Peter Reservoir drawdowns and emergency power interruptions resulting from ice, wind, or fire emergencies. The drawdowns in Green Peter Reservoir significantly impact the turbidity of our community's drinking water from Foster Lake. The Water Treatment Plant Improvement Project seeks to mitigate this issue by:
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Installing larger capacity pumps
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Additional pre-filtration for improved turbidity removal
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Increased backwash pond capacity
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Implementing an emergency standby generator to ensure uninterrupted operation.
The overarching goal is to ensure that the water treatment plant meets and surpasses all Oregon Health Authority requirements during Green Peter drawdown events and other emergencies. The City of Sweet Home is working diligently to provide clean drinking water to our citizens. The unexpected consequences of the Green Peter drawdown created conditions that made it very challenging to provide clean drinking water. Assessed after the first drawdown of Green Peter Reservoir in 2023, the cost to retrofit the water treatment plant is estimated at $11,493,966.00. These retrofits are necessary in order to ensure ongoing safe, clean, and clear drinking water for our community. This project is currently unfunded.