TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Krishna Namburi, Interim City Manager
FROM: Brian D. Martin, PE, Public Works Director
SUBJECT:
title
Application for a grant from the Oregon Health Authority’s Drinking Water Source Protection Fund.
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
Result Area(s): Natural Environment Stewardship; Safe, Reliable and Efficient Infrastructure.
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SUMMARY:
summary
The City, in partnership with the Partners of the North Santiam, will apply for funding from the Oregon Health Authority’s Drinking Water Source Protection Fund. The fund will be used to develop a comprehensive work plan aimed at addressing post-wildfire water quality concerns in the North Santiam watershed. The workplan that will be funded with this grant will leverage information from the North Santiam Watershed Council’s ongoing Post-Fire Watershed Resource Assessment and Prioritization Guide project. This project evaluates post-fire conditions and establishes actionable, long-term restoration priorities along with conceptual plans. The total funding requested for this grant is $50,000. The grant has no matching fund or in-kind contribution requirements.
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ISSUE:
Shall City Council authorize the Interim City Manager to apply for and, if awarded, accept a Drinking Water Source Protection Fund Grant in the amount of $50,000?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Authorize the Interim City Manager to apply for and, if awarded, accept a Drinking Water Source Protection Fund Grant in the amount of $50,000.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
1. The Drinking Water Source Protection Fund is administered by the Oregon Health Authority. The fund provides direct assistance to publicly, privately, and non-community water systems. One of the programs offers grants of up to $50,000 per eligible system for activities such as drinking water source area delineation, potential contaminant source inventory and risk assessment, development of drinking water source protection plans, and implementation strategies.
2. The North Santiam River is the primary drinking water supply for the City of Salem. This high-quality source water flows over 90 miles from the high ridges near Mt. Jefferson, through the Detroit Reservoir, and into the Mid-Willamette Valley where it joins the South Santiam River before entering the Willamette River. The North Santiam Watershed encompasses approximately 760 square miles of private, state, and national forests. Activities in these areas can directly and indirectly impact Salem’s drinking water quality.
3. In September 2020, the Beachie Creek Fire and the Lionshead Fire burned nearly 400,000 acres, affecting over fifty percent of the North Santiam Watershed. Wildfires can impact watershed ecological functions for years and have lasting negative effects on water quality. Key post-fire challenges faced by drinking water providers include erosion, flooding, high turbidity events, nutrient exportation, and heavy metal loads in the water.
4. Since the fires, the City of Salem, along with numerous partners, have been actively monitoring water quality and working towards enhancing the resilience of the North Santiam Watershed. The North Santiam Watershed Council (NSWC) has been a vital long-term partner in these efforts.
5. The project funded by this grant will create a work plan that builds on the findings from the Post-Fire Watershed Resource Assessment and Prioritization Guide. Key activities will include applying the Partners of the North Santiam (PNS) prioritization matrix, formulating project proposals, assessing monitoring needs, identifying funding sources, evaluating stakeholder engagement, and updating the PNS Smartsheet project tracking tool.
6. The project is expected to run from July 2026 through the winter of 2028.
7. The grant has no matching fund or in-kind contribution requirements.
BACKGROUND:
The fires and subsequent response efforts in the North Santiam Watershed have significantly impacted the watershed ecosystems. The North Santiam Watershed Council received a grant from the Oregon Water Enhancement Board to complete a North Santiam Post-Fire Watershed Resource Assessment & Prioritization Guide (PWRAPG). Federal, state, regional, and local partners have initiated various levels of post-fire monitoring in their respective project areas. Work on the assessment and prioritization has been ongoing since 2024 and is expected to be completed by June 2026. However, this information has not yet been consolidated into a single and actionable restoration plan.
In partnership with the North Santiam Watershed Council, the City of Salem proposes to develop a work plan based on the PWRAPG. This plan will support post-fire recovery project planning and implementation, specifically addressing water quality issues such as sedimentation and turbidity. Funding from the Drinking Water Source Protection Fund grant will facilitate development of a work plan to implement post-fire recovery efforts. This work is scheduled to begin in July 2026 and will continue through the winter of 2028.
Robert D. Chandler, PhD, PE
Assistant Public Works Director
Attachments:
None.