Flow and Eddy: Meet the Tualatin Valley Water District, City of Tualatin's New Emergency Water Pump Station

BEAVERTON, OR — Representatives from the City of Tualatin and the Tualatin Valley Water District on Monday unveiled the district's new portable emergency pump station, which in the event of a catastrophic emergency could provide upwards of 10 million gallons of water per day to the 50,000 TVWD and Tualatin water customers in the Metzger, Progress, and Garden Home area.

Appropriately dubbed "Flow and Eddy," the two pumps on the Washington County Supply Line Emergency Pump Station trailer were dedicated on May 8 at the Springville Reservoir in North Bethany, where TVWD officials tested the equipment to ensure it could do what would need to be done in case of an emergency that affected water resources from Portland's Powell Butte Reservoir — specifically the expected Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, which forecasters predict would rattle the Portland metro region severely.

"We all hope we never use these pumps," former Tualatin City Councilor Ed Truax said Monday. "But if something happens — because stuff happens — we're all better off for it."

Truax said the pumps were truly a testament to the two agencies' ability to work together, adding "you never really know how well you're going to get along with your neighbors until you share a water supply with them."

Drawing 60 percent of its water from Portland's supply, which travels west from Portland along the Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, the TVWD pipeline system would be in a dire situation if there were no backups in place to push water uphill along Southwest Oleson Road.

It was there at the intersection of Southwest Oleson Road and Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway 10 years ago, according to TVWD CEO Mark Knudson, that crews recognized a vulnerability in the water supply line. So, aware of a potentially catastrophic situation, TVWD officials and the City of Tualatin agreed to go 50-50 on a $1.4 million project that would ultimately provide redundancy and peace of mind for not only the officials of those agencies but also the residents who would otherwise be left without water should the Portland pipeline be compromised.

In case of an emergency that saw TVWD customers cutoff from Portland's water supply:

• Flow and Eddy would be installed at the Washington County Supply Line intertie located near the Raccoon Lodge in Raleigh Hills;
• The westbound waterline from Portland would be closed at the Southwest Oleson Road intersection; and
• Water provided in partnership by the Joint Water Commission (JWC) would be drawn east by Flow and Eddy and diverted around the closed Portland pipeline and pushed uphill along Southwest Oleson Road toward about 50,000 thirsty residents.

The JWC provides roughly 40 percent of the TVWD water supply not provided by Portland. The City of Tualatin receives all its water from Portland's Bull Run water supply. As per the Flow and Eddy partnership, TVWD would provide JWC water to Metzger residents and the City of Tualatin in an emergency.

Essentially, Flow and Eddy — collectively — are a critical piece of the redundant water supply infrastructure, Knudson said, and it saved the agencies and taxpayers the cost of installing new pipes.

Photo Courtesy: Travis Loose, Patch.com