Frequently Asked Questions
The MWMC is pleased to offer tours of the regional wastewater treatment facility to schools and community groups. Visit our Tours page to learn more and schedule a tour.
Please call the City of Eugene, Wastewater Division, at 541.682.8600.
You are welcome to attend monthly Commission meetings. There is an opportunity for public comment. In addition, you may address a letter to the Commission which will be entered into public record. Letters can be emailed to MWMCpartners or mailed to: Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, OR 97477. You may also contact Commissioners directly using their contact information available on the Commission page.
Wastewater fees are billed to all users connected to the Eugene-Springfield Regional Water Pollution Control Facility. Customers pay a combined fee which includes: A basic Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) monthly charge; and a flow-based fee, calculated on the amount of water used and customer category. Flow fees are determined from water meter readings during the winter months (December through April). May through November bills are based on the average of the winter usage or actual usage, whichever is less.
There are several ways to check your plumbing for a leak. The most common leak we see is a silent toilet leak. To check for one, put a few drops of food coloring into the tank of the toilet and wait several minutes. If the color seeps into the bowl, you have a leak.
A good way to check if you have a leak somewhere in your system is to do an overnight meter read. You just write down the reading on your meter before you go to bed for the night (make sure no water gets used over night) Then read the meter again in the morning before you use any water. If the numbers change, you have a leak somewhere. You can also do this when you are going to be out of the house for the day.
Most of the meters in use today have a flow detector on them. This is a small red triangle inside a bubble located under the numbers on the meter. When you are using water, the triangle spins. If you are not running anything that uses water and the triangle is spinning, you probably have a leak.
The cost of sending clean water to a customer is considerably less than cleaning and purifying water discharged into the sanitary sewer system so that it can be returned to the Willamette River. For more information, see our Rates page.
Annually:
- Treat 10 to 14 billion gallons of wastewater each year
- Process 6,000 dry tons of biosolids
- Conduct more than 27,000 water quality tests
- Inspect/clean wastewater lines
- Repair/replace wastewater lines
- Operate and Maintain pump stations
- Construct new facilities
- Implement Federally required Industrial Pretreatment and Pollution Prevention Programs in Eugene and Springfield