Water Division

The City's water system derives its source from the North Florence Sole Source Dunal Aquifer.  The City currently operates 12 wells, three reservoirs and three pump stations.  Water is delivered to over 3,700 customer connections through approximately 62 miles of water mains.  Presently, the City is able to produce and treat 3.0 million gallons of water per day through its state of the art treatment facilities. 

The Water Division provides safe and reliable drinking water that meets or exceeds all Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state of Oregon standards for water quality.  The division holds to these standards under normal, peak, and emergency situations.

The primary responsibility of the Water Division is to operate, maintain, repair, and expand the water system, while at the same time, providing a high-quality, dependable water supply to its customers.  While its mission is to provide safe, reliable, cost-effective water supplies and outstanding customer service in an environmentally sensitive manner, the City also encourages efficient water use with a goal of reducing water consumption and conservation.

Beyond the Tap

• Fire Protection: Well-maintained community water systems are critically important for protecting our community from fire.  Having a system that provides water at an adequate pressure can be the difference between a localized fire versus a widespread fire that impacts multiple homes and/or businesses.
• The Economy: We depend on water for our daily lives.  Businesses also depend on water to create their products, conduct day-to-day operations, and allow them to expand.  Having a safe, dependable, reliable water source enables businesses and communities to grow.
• Quality of Life:  Water is essential for life and having access to safe drinking water is critical for public health and in allowing us to conduct our daily activities and productivity.  Our public water systems enable us to drink from virtually any public tap in the country with a high assurance of safety.

What's Happening in the Water Division

Consumer Confidence (Water Quality) Reports
By July 1 of each year, the City of Florence publishes a Consumer Confidence Report, also referred to as a Water Quality Report.  It contains information regarding your source of drinking water, the quality and treatment of your drinking water, detected contaminants (if any), information about our compliance with state and federal regulations, and the management of our drinking water supply.  Click Here for More Information.

Backflow Prevention
As a public water utility, the City of Florence must comply with federal laws to protect the drinking water system and consumers.  Throughout the year, we are constantly surveying the water to maintain high quality drinking level standards and determine the type(s) of backflow prevention necessary to protect the water system.  We have a cross-connection control program within our water department and a cross-connection control specialist as part of our utility crew.  Click Here for More Information.

North Florence Dunal Aquifer Study, 1982
A study of the North Florence Dunal Aquifer.  Click Here for More Information.

Water System Master Plan Update, 2011
The purpose of this Water System Master Plan Update is to provide the City of Florence with a comprehensive planning document that provides basic information and guidance necessary for the sound stewardship of the municipal water system within its water service boundary. Click Here for More Information

Maintaining High-Quality Drinking Water in Your Home
Are you seeing black slime or pink stuff coming out of your faucet? Are there stains on the fixtures? Does the tap water have an unusual smell or color? The solutions to these issues may be in your hands. The next time you fill a glass with tap water, take a close look at the faucet and sink. Is the sink area clean? The City of Florence wants every resident to enjoy a high-quality tap water. Click Here for some faucet tips as well as a downloadable brochure to help make your tap water the highest-quality possible.

Siuslaw Estuary Partnership
The Siuslaw Estuary Partnership was a collaborative effort by the City of Florence and its federal, state, and local partners to protect and improve water quality and fish and wildlife habitat in the lower Siuslaw River Watershed. The three-year project was funded by project partners and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Click Here for More Information

Water Resource Management and Conservation
The water you use is carefully processed to be clean, safe, and piped directly into your home, a valuable resource that shouldn't be wasted.  The high-quality water that we need and expect in our homes is not an infinite resource.  Conserving water benefits you and all those around you.  Besides, you are paying for every drop, whether it is used or wasted.  So conservation can benefit your pocketbook, too. Click Here for More Information

Water is Such a Bargain! According to the American Water Works Association, Americans spend less than 1% of their total personal income on water and wastewater services.  When you pay your water bill, you are receiving water that has undergone sophisticated treatment, has been frequently tested and monitored for more than 100 contaminants, and has been delivered to your home or stored for future use via a vast underground infrastructure. One gallon of tap water costs less than 1/2 of 1 cent.  Compare that to one gallon of: Bottled Water: $1.43 Cola: $2.60 Milk: $3.49 Gasoline: $2.99 Orange Juice: $7.19 Wine: $19 Cafe Lattes: $35 Olive Oil: $48 Honey: $67 (2009-2012 Prices from AWWA and NLRB)

Fascinating Facts About Water
Water is the Earth's most precious resource.  Essential for all life, water is the best no calorie health drink! Here are some interesting and fascinating facts about water brought to you by the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Water Works Association:

• Only 3% of Earth’s water is fresh water.  97% of the water on Earth is salt water.
• Icecaps and glaciers hold the majority of the Earth's freshwater--about 69%.
• In just 16 hours, U.S. water utilities produce as much potable water as the oil industry produces in oil in a year.  In 24 hours, as much water tonnage is produced as the steel industry produces in steel in an entire year.
• The water found at the Earth’s surface in lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, and swamps makes up only 0.3% of the world’s fresh water.
• Water can dissolve more substances than any other liquid including sulfuric acid.
• There is more fresh water in the atmosphere than in all of the rivers on the planet combined.
• If all of the water vapor in the Earth’s atmosphere fell at once, distributed evenly, it would only cover the earth with about an inch of water. 
• In 1900, 25,000 Americans died of typhoid. By 1960, thanks to the use of chlorine in water treatment, that number dropped to 20.
• There are approximately one million miles of water pipeline and aqueducts in the United States and Canada, enough to circle Earth 40 times.
• The first water pipes in the US were made from wood (bored logs that were charred with fire).
• Fire hydrants are sometimes called fire plugs.  People would drill into the hollowed out logs used to distribute water to access water and fight fires.  They would then use a wooden plug to close the hole after the fire was put out.
• A gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds.
• A cubic foot of water weighs 62.4 pounds
• It takes more water to manufacture a new car (39,090 gallons) than to fill an above ground swimming pool.
• Water is the only substance found on earth naturally in three forms: solid, liquid and gas.
• Water makes up between 55-78% of a human’s body weight.  Because water is so important to life, it is important to replenish the water you lose each day.  For most adults, it is recommended that you drink 8 cups or more of water each day.