MWMC Hosts Clean Water University 2023

More than 600 5th grade students visited the MWMC's regional wastewater treatment plant for the Clean Water University Field Trip event this month! Staff from the City of Eugene and City of Springfield volunteered to run the booths and help teach the kids about the stormwater and wastewater systems and the overall importance of clean water. The Springfield Utility Board and Rainbow Water District also volunteered to teach kids about the drinking water system. The kids got to play games, see macro- and microorganisms that are involved in urban water management, and go on a tour of the plant.

MWMC Communications Team Wins Watermark Award

Our communications team was honored to receive the Watermark Award at this year's Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association Conference! The award recognizes the comms team's efforts to teach people the value of clean water and wastewater management. Communications Supervisor Loralyn Spiro accepted the award on behalf of the team.

MWMC Hosts Fall Tours for Fellow Professionals

Eugene wastewater staff had several opportunities to share institutional knowledge this month, including hosting a small group of wastewater professionals from New Zealand and hosting a tour of about 20 people with the League of Oregon Cities. The group from New Zealand included engineers and professionals interested in the MWMC's resource recovery and biosolids programs, and they were able to take an in-depth tour of the Renewable Natural Gas Facility, the Biosolids Management Facility, and the Biocycle Farm, and they shared with staff some of the history of water resources in New Zealand and the similar issues they are working to solve. The League of Oregon Cities had a tight schedule, so they were treated to a partial tour of the plant, as well as presentations from staff on our facilities and work. We were happy to share the working knowledge we've developed with others so that we can all continue to protect our most precious natural resource: water.

Meet Karen Roybal: Document Specialist

What does a document specialist do?

I’m kind of the gatekeeper to make sure that when documents get updated the updates follow through into the shared system, so everyone has access to them, but no one has access to them willy-nilly. It’s just a way to make sure that our documents are controlled and managed.

I also manage the retention. We have public guidelines for how long we retain documents, and so when we have reports or applications or permits, they all come through me, and I put them into our repository and make sure that we meet the guidelines for the state law on retention.

There must be quite a few documents coming through for you to have a full-time job managing them.

I’m actually kind of 50-50. So I’m 50 percent document management and 50 percent travel/training coordinator. When our staff have CEU’s to collect to maintain their certifications, then I manage the travel and registration, per diem, all that stuff so they can get to and from their destinations. But primarily, my position is document management. I do get a lot because the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requires a lot of documentation for some of the environmental aspects. All of the industries in the area that follow the regulations for how they maintain their wastewater, washwater, all of that stuff comes through here.

So it sounds like you get a pretty large variety of documents. What are some of the most important or most common ones you handle?

There are two. There’s one that the industries have to submit monthly, those are basically self-monitoring reports and discharge-monitoring reports. Basically those are our industries telling us how much water they’re discharging, how they’re managing their wastewater, discharge water, in compliance with their permit. All of that stuff comes into our industrial source control group, they review it, and then it comes to me. That’s the heaviest bit of documentation. So when we have to track an industry that struggles to keep compliance, all of that stuff has to be monitored. Once it gets monitored and logged, then it comes to me, and I put it into our repository so we can pull that information at any time.

The other piece of it is all our control documents, which helps us meet our Environmental Management System (EMS) audit every year. So all of our control docs, including all of our policies and procedures that need to be readily available at the drop of a hat, are in a shared document system. Those are some of the most important because people need to be able to pull those documents up, they need to be accurate and accessible to all employees at all times so they know how to manage a variety of situations. So those are the most time-consuming and the most important documents that I manage.

For you, what’s a typical day like?

Well, my day basically has goals. Like if I come in and it’s around the 15^th of the month or right before, I can expect that most of these industries are going to be getting their documentation and their reports submitted by the 15^th. That could be a really heavy load, it could be a really light load: it just kind of depends. And then a variety of emails come in from supervisors asking questions about documents. I manage issues around the system, or somebody not being able to find a document they’re supposed to be able to find. If it’s a heavy travel season, then I’ll be booking travel and training at the same time. I just got done sending like 12 people out of state, so that takes some time.

So my day fluctuates. Even though I have daily tasks, I kind of do whatever is needed at the time. Plus I sit up front, so I help greet customers, tours, interviewees, I help answer phones, so it’s just kind of a dynamic, very busy, do-whatever-the-day calls for kind of job. Which I like, because then I don’t get bored! I don’t like to sit around.

How long have you been working for the City of Eugene/MWMC?

So I’ve been with wastewater for five years. Previously, I was with the Eugene Police Department for three years, and before that I was with Public Works Engineering for three years. So I’ve been collectively with the City of Eugene for eleven years.

At the Eugene Police Department I was the Contract Manager in a similar role managing all of the legal documentation to have them be able to spend money, spend grant money, or apply money to different processes, programs, personal services. And then in Engineering, I started out as a timekeeper, and when I left I was the Supervisor for the Admin Team.

So you’ve done a variety of things for the City of Eugene over the years. How has that shaped your perspective of Eugene?

I have a great deal of admiration for the services that the City provides to the public, specifically and especially in public works, because public works is such a front-facing, community-driven service. Everything in public works directly impacts the community. Whether it is road improvements, the wastewater treatment process, public works maintenance, everything from sewer cleanup to park services, I love working for public works. It’s been my favorite, just because of how interactive we are with the public and how readily we can see our work pushed out into the public.

I’m also the lead for Public Works Day. That’s one of my favorite times of year. I started out on the committee, and then I took over the coordinator position for Public Works Day because I love the education aspect. We’re able to really work with the parents and the teachers and bring kids in to learn about what public works does for our community, so that kids can get a real perspective for how cool it is that all these people come to work every day to create this cool community for kids and families.

What is that event like?

So for one day, in May, usually around Public Works Week, we close down the Roosevelt yard for one full day, and we bring out pieces of equipment and firetrucks and police cars. Kids can come straight out to the yard and get a feel for what it’s like to sit in the bucket of a tractor or get in a police car. We also have area volunteers everywhere from the Mt. Pisgah Arboretum. We have displays similar to Clean Water University [where] kids can see what’s in our water. We teach the kids about erosion. We have litter pickup so kids can go out with the little grabbers and sort it into garbage and recycle. We have a big traffic area so kids can learn to navigate through traffic and follow stop signs and walk signals. So it’s really cool! I think the last public works day we had about 2,700 people from the public come through from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., and it was just tons of city employees, and we all just spend the day really integrating with the kids in our communities. And then we send them home with some goody bags or some videos to watch.

How long does that event take to plan?

We usually start in February. I present the budget to the Public Works Division Managers, and if we get approval it’s basically from January, February until it’s executed in May. In a perfect world we’d have more time, but typically about three or four months to put all of that together. I recruit volunteers and assign tasks. We have to get safety permits and all kinds of stuff put together. We’ve been doing it for years, so the people that have been doing it are really enthusiastic about it.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

The public-facing part of it is probably my favorite. Sometimes it seems like my job is just in the office, but part of what I love about this job is that I have a great work team, and I get to just do a variety of all kinds of things. There are many opportunities for me to be on different committees. I was on the Public Works Picnic Committee. I’m on the Public Works Day Organization Committee. I kind of feel like that’s kind of my niche, because I don’t mind talking and being around people. I would say that my favorite part of my job, and any job, is being able to interact with other people. I don’t think I could sit in a cubicle and not talk to people all day. When you get to tell people what public works does, it’s kind of fun to see people’s faces when they realize it’s not just boring work. I have kids too, so we talk about that at home.

How many kids do you have?

I have four boys. My oldest is 21, and then 18, and then 12, and then 10.

So you’ve got quite a mix there. How do you balance being a mother to both young adults and younger kids?

It’s a finicky balance, because I have the older boys who don’t want me to talk about them on social media, and they want me to support whatever they’re doing and be helpful and useful, but not embarrassing. Then I’ve got the young kids who think it’s really cool that I have social media and I have an influencer page, and when I put them on that influencer page and they get to see how many people like things, they still think I’m cool! We play Pokemon Go together. I do definitely have to balance my enthusiasm. I have to learn what each one of the kids appreciates about their interactions with Mom.

What’s the influencer account like?

I have a disc golf account because I’m a disc golf competitor. I just traveled out to North Carolina to compete in the women’s championship for disc golf. So I’m a local amateur disc golfer. I’m a tournament director, so I run events here. I actually have a kids event that I’m running for Halloween. I also compete in local events, and then for the last few years I’ve been traveling [across] the United States competing in some women’s events.

How did you get started in disc golf? And what drew you to the competitions?

So someone introduced me to it a few years ago, pre-COVID. It was fun, but then during COVID I found that with very limited things to do, going out and playing disc golf was something I could do with my family outside. It wasn’t restricted, and so we just kind of started picking it up.

Well, there’s a lot of room right now for women to start taking up space in different things, right? We want young girls and women to grow certain sports because most sports are dominated by the male category. So I got a lot of encouragement locally as a new female player. They’re like, “Oh! There’s this girl, she’s really interested in playing!” And I got talked into playing my first tournament. And from there you start linking in with more activities, and then it’s fun! I don’t know if I’m actually good at it, but I started an Instagram page and it just kind of blew up! I have about 10,000 followers now. One of my reels hit over a million views. But I have a following of people who just really enjoy watching a mom play disc golf for fun. I’m better than average, but I’m not a pro, so I’m just kind of a real person. I’m not out there making a ton of money, but I’m putting out on social media what it’s like to play with my kids, what it’s like to travel on a budget, and I’m also doing fundraisers, and I’m hosting events for women and kids. I’m on the local Eugene Disc Golf Board, so that I can help drive where our community goes with disc golf.

I bet your work at the City of Eugene has been a useful connection for the Board too.

Absolutely! So I’ve actually now taught two kids disc golf camps in the summer for Willamalane, and I am now working with the City of Eugene out at Petersen Barn on developing a disc golf camp for the City of Eugene summer program in 2024. And when the next public works day comes, I’m also going to integrate disc golf baskets into public works day, so kids can come out and look at what it’s like to putt into a basket. There’s a lot of creative movement around disc golf, and also being a part of the local community and working for public works, I’ve actually been able to be a liaison a little bit, and help connect the disc golf community with some of the parks staff. So we recently re-laid four brand new tee pads at the Westmoreland disc golf course.

Here’s your chance for a shameless plug. What’s your account called?

@bogey_girl. It’s a very family friendly account. I went all the way out to North Carolina and met a little girl followed me on my disc golf page and we got to play a round together, and she lives in Georgia. So when I got back, I have some signature discs, and I mailed them out to her. I have my own little logo stickers that I hand out too. It’s just a fun little kitschy way to promote the sport, encourage young girls. The next thing I’m working on is a local scholarship fund to help young girls be able to get some of these big events, should they want to travel out. We have some local girls who are younger, and it’s kind of expensive! Next year, the tournament I went to is going to be in Texas, so it’s $200 to register for the tournament, and then you’ve gotta buy a plane ticket, and you’ve gotta be there for a few days.

It seems like you have a very full life. What else do you enjoy doing?

Mountain climbing and running. So I’ve climbed South Sister, Mount Adams, Mount St. Helens, Broken Top, Diamond Peak, and in November I’m going to go up to Washington and do this ridiculous run where you run to the top and then you run back down. And I’ve got some goals around hiking some of the Olympia mountains up in the Northern Cascades of Washington. Mountain climbing is one of my favorite things to do in my off time. And weightlifting. I’m just a very busy person! 

You can learn more about the work our staff do at the MWMC's website, and you can check out Karen's social media by clicking the buttons below!

Stormdrain Cleaning Assistance Program Available to Help Lane County Businesses

Are you a business owner in Lane County? There’s a program that can help you protect your local environment and give you a discount on routine maintenance! The MWMC, in partnership with the Urban Waters & Wildlife Program is encouraging Lane County businesses to take advantage of the Stormdrain Cleaning Assistance Program before the October 31^st enrollment deadline.

Lane County’s Stormwater Management Program is partnering with Stormwater Protection Systems to provide discounted stormdrain cleaning. This voluntary program allows county businesses to clean their private stormdrains for a reduced flat fee of $65 per drain.

Businesses are eligible to sign-up each fall and spring in anticipation of heavy rainfall and more water entering the stormdrain systems. To register for the fall program, visit www.lanecountyor.gov/SCAP and sign up by October 31^st.

Stormwater often drains directly into rivers and streams without treatment, resulting in pollutants from parking lots and roadways contributing to water quality issues. Stormdrain cleaning and maintenance helps remove contaminants like oil, pesticides, fertilizers, and heavy metals, which is vital to keeping our waterways clean. It also helps reduce flooding risk by restoring capacity for heavy rainfall.

 Businesses are responsible for cleaning and maintain privately owned stormdrains in their parking lots. This program’s goal is to make these services accessible and affordable to encourage bi-annual cleanings.

The $65 per drain fee covers debris removal from standard parking lot drains, power washing in and around the drain, and disposal of contaminated sediment. The program does not cover additional fees for jetting, repair, or oversized drains. 

PNCWA Adopt-a-School Program Open for Applicants

The Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association Adopt-a-School program is available again for K-12 educators who are teaching about water science. The program helps fund educators and schools for projects, field trips, and resources in the area of water science. The program also requires a tour of a wastewater facility for students, which the MWMC is more than happy to accommodate! Applications are open until January 14, 2024. Apply by clicking the button below!

This coming weekend, people across the nation will be cleaning out their medicine cabinets and turning in unused prescriptions to be properly destroyed. Here in Oregon, you can turn in those medications to your local pharmacy any time of the year! Making sure prescription drugs are properly disposed is an important part of protecting the quality of our water sources. Don't flush meds, turn them in instead!