Great News for everyone who may be interested in building in rural Lane County
Monday Dec 4th
Questions continue to swirl around the upcoming Blue River Community Sewer.
We attended the December update meeting and have some things to share with those who are interested.
The following are my brief takeaways from the meeting – they are not official announcements – and should not be construed as such. Things are still fluid as the county and community groups move forward on helping to solve wastewater issues for Blue River and others trying to build along the McKenzie River.
For more details on why Community Wastewater options are critical for Blue River go to bottom of this article.
Cluster Systems are about to become a thing!
This opens new options for property owners to rebuild / build where they might not have been able to before.
This affects all of Rural Lane County – not just Blue River
A cluster system is a micro community wastewater treatment options that can be set up between neighbors.
What is a cluster system – essentially its when more than one properties share a drain field. This is super helpful when a property is too small to have its own drain field (also helpful when slopes, sit types, rocks. wetlands, etc won’t allow a drain field.). Click here for a more detailed explanation.
For Cluster Systems to be an available option for Lane County, codes and processes need to be created – from permitting to maintenance agreements.
Willamette Partnership is working on these details and a proposal for the county is expected in early 2024.
“Willamette Partnership is a conservation non-profit with a deep commitment to helping build stronger, healthier, and more equitable communities that are sustained by nature. We believe that people need nature and that the well-being of communities and natural systems is inextricably linked. Communities don’t have to choose between a healthy economy and a healthy environment.” Willamette Partnership website.
Blue River Wastewater Treatment Update
The short term goal is to get two 2500 gallon systems installed – one at the park and the other at the Three Sisters Meadows Site
These are smaller systems that won’t handle much capacity, however they can be built relatively quickly compared to a larger system. Larger systems are regulated by the DEQ and not the county, they take a much longer time to get studies and approvals for.
The team working on this wants to have some capacity as quickly as possible to be available for fire victims rebuilding. They I understand that some property owners have time limits on rebuilding with insurance funds, missing this window may require those people to invest their insurance funds elsewhere (not in Blue River).
Though small, Blue River to have a Sewer District. This will open up future options for Blue River as the town changes and technology creates new opportunities to serve more people at lower costs. It’s worth noting that if Blue River does not get a sewer district formed now, it may never have that opportunity in the future. In addition, we at McKenzie Community Partners managed to get a large grant from the state to help pay for this – making it cheaper for the community get it now that it will be in the future).
The system can be expanded. Based on need, capacity and cost, the water district will have the opportunity to expand. Ultimate sizing will depend on ground studies that determine the exact load the soils will handle without passing pollutants into the McKenzie River (which of course is very important to all of us).
Testing/studies are ongoing provide data for expansion options and are expected to be compile the by mid 24.
The team is also exploring technology options for treating sewage that will help provide a roadmap for future expansion and costs of the options.
Cost effective options for our community are a major concern of everyone working on this project.
The Need – Why does Wastewater Matter – Why Should we do this?
The Blue River business core has deteriorated over the last couple decades. The Holiday Farm Fire took out what was left. Land use Laws in the 1970’s put new restrictions on building in rural areas. When pre-existing businesses lost their grandfather rights to operate or when their existing septics failed, they were unable to meet these State/County building codes and could not do major remodels, rebuilds or even reopen.
To support Blue River’s renewal:
Properties too Small – Some of these lots were platted in the late 1800’s when Blue River was first created. They are simply too small to meet modern septic requirements.
Support a Sustainable Community – Ongoing research into what makes small towns successful and viable include flex use development with apartments and businesses.
A community wastewater treatment is one often only ways to resolve this – where treatment happens off site. It allows more of the down town core to be build with higher density in a smaller footprint. It helps to ensure that development does not negatively affect the river’s water quality.