Springfield gets its drinking water supply from plentiful, high-quality sources in and around the City. The majority comes from 27 SUB wells and several additional wells owned by Rainbow Water District. These wells tap the aquifer, a vast underground formation of water-bearing sands and gravel beneath our community. The remainder of Springfield’s drinking water comes from the Middle Fork Willamette River and is treated through our Slow Sand Filtration Plant. A new source, the McKenzie River, will come online within the next decade.
Protecting the drinking water supply at its source is a top priority for SUB. We work with the City of Springfield, Rainbow Water District, and other organizations and community members to implement the strategies in our state-certified Springfield Drinking Water Protection Plan. Recently, the state Department of Environmental Quality provided supplemental information in its Updated Source Water Assessment, which further evaluates risks to groundwater and surface water and supplements the Springfield Drinking Water Protection Plan. For more information, contact SUB’s Drinking Water Source Protection Coordinator at 541-744-3745.