PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, JULY 16, 2021
Ancient aquifer
keeps city hydrated
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
It doesn’t require listening hard or long
to grow concerned about water supplies.
Whether it’s a shortage in far-fl ung
countries or a chlorine treatment shortage
in Oregon, the causes for water worry can
be overwhelming. By contrast, Keizerites
can rest easy knowing the city’s water sup-
ply is clean and won’t be running dry any
time in the foreseeable future.
“Residents should have no concerns
about rationing water for normal daily
uses. If there were to be an issue with the
water system that required extra conserva-
tion measures we will notify the public of
the need to do so,” said Bill Lawyer, direc-
tor of Keizer Public Works.
That includes water for activities like
drinking, cooking and bathing, as well as
luxuries such as watering lawns and fi lling
pools.
There are so few concerns about the
aquifer level changes that there aren’t even
regional conversations about overtaxing
its supply. Rampant use is ill-advised, but
there are no current threats.
“We keep an eye on new water right
applications submitted through the Water
Resources Department that propose
additional draw from the aquifer and pro-
vide comments as necessary on those
applications,” he said.
Keizer gets its water from wells
that tap into the Troutdale Aquifer,
a massive 300-square mile under-
ground “lake” that stretches
into southwest Washington and
down to Eugene. That’s equiva-
lent to 145,200 football fi elds and
more than 51 million cars could
be parked in the same amount of
space.
Depending on where it’s mea-
sured, the aquifer is anywhere 60
to 1,500 feet thick. Not all of that
space is water, but the H2O fl ows
within a layer of sandy gravel,
sandstone and basalt (volcanic
rock).
Troutdale Aquifer serves as the
sole source of the water that fl ows into
the homes of residents. The quality is so
high, because of the fi ltration that happens
underground, that only a fl uoride injection
and a treatment that converts iron and
manganese into solids for easy fi ltering
are needed before sending it into Keizer
homes.
“The chlorine shortage does not impact
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Keizer because we are
not required to disinfect our
water prior to delivering it
to the citizens because it is
so pure,” Lawyer said.
Despite several entire
cities depending on the
aquifer as the main water
source, more than 30 years
of collected data have pro-
duced no signifi cant vari-
ation in the aquifer’s ability
to recharge with runoff from
High Cascades. The High Cascades is
the term used for the tallest volcanic for-
mations in the Cascade Mountains that are
covered with snow and/or ice mostly year-
round. The aquifer’s fl ows are also infl u-
enced by the Columbia and Willamette
Rivers.
The city taps into the aquifer through
15 wells spread throughout the seven
square miles of Keizer. Wells range from
100- to 450-feet deep and are powered by
electricity.
After being extracted from the aquifer
to the surface, 125 miles of pipe carry water
to Keizer homes or one of three above-
ground storage units. Two reservoirs, one
near Bair Park in north Keizer and another
near Keizer Little League Park, and the
water tower visible from Interstate 5
hold approximately 2.8 million gallons of
water and keep water pressure consistent
throughout the system.
The last time the city updated its Water
Master Plan, in 2012, Keizerites used about
93 gallons of water per day, per resident,
which includes system leakage pegged at
5%-8% of the overall fl ow. Keizerites use
an average of 3.5 million gallons of water
per day and consumption peaks around 8
million gallons per
day at the hottest times of the year. By com-
parison, Portland residents use an average
80 to 95 million gallons of water per day
and the aquifer serves only as a back-up.
Even considering 20-year growth pro-
jections at the time, which are now lower
than they were, consultants determined
there is no need for the city to increase
the amount of water that it draws from the
aquifer.
Relying on the pure ground water from
the aquifer keeps costs to a minimum for
the city’s residents. On average, a Keizer
household pays about $7.50 per month to
be part of the system. The closest compa-
rable city is McMinnville whose residents
pay more than $23 a month.
Salem, which uses water from the
Willamette River and nearby surface water
sources, must pay for additional treat-
ments before it reaches homes. Surface
water is also more susceptible to contam-
ination from natural and human-produced
sources. The Troutdale Aquifer is pro-
tected by a thick layer of clay that is, by and
large, a shield from surface contaminants.
Two years ago, when an algae bloom in
the Santiam had residents of the Cherry
City scrambling to hydrate, Keizer was
able to assist without impacting the qual-
ity of services in the city and didn’t have
any measurable impact on the aquifer lev-
els, according to Lawyer.
Several are equipped with back-up gen-
erators to keep the system running in the
event of a citywide power outage.
When the ice storm tested the city’s
abilities in almost all areas earlier this year,
“[The water systems] performed excel-
lently during the power outage,” Lawyer
said.
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