CTWS New Water Treatment Plant

Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden along with Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs leadership, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Indian Health Service (IHS), gathered in Warm Springs yesterday to talk about the over $28 million in federal investments being made to build a new water treatment plant for the Reservation’s Agency Water System.

Senator Merkley, who leveraged his position as Chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee to provide the funding needed, noted that progress has already been made in improving the aged infrastructure saying “27 brand new pressure control valves have been put in place greatly reducing the number of times the pipes break or split, so that’s a big step forward.  This treatment plant is going to be another big step forward.” 

The Senators and federal agency partners took a tour of the existing water treatment plant that was built in 1981.

The new treatment plant will be built next to the existing one, on the Deschutes River in the Dry Creek area.

The project from start to finish is expected to take 4-5 years.  IHS engineers have begun the design phase of the project which is expected to take up to 2 years