Southview's Water System
The Southview Improvement District (SID) is a special district that supplies water to the Southview neighborhood. Southview's water infrastructure was installed in 1981. In 2020, SID was classified as a small Community Water System (a public water utility).
Water is supplied to Southview homes from Well #3, a 178-feet deep well drilled at the former Berry Creek Quarry, which is located at the furthest southeast corner of the Southview HOA property. The well house contains a submersible pump, variable frequency pump drive (VFD), electrical equipment and a surge protector.
Groundwater is pumped from the well to a 69,000-gallon storage tank (the “reservoir”), located northeast of the loop at the top of Southview. The reservoir includes a telemetry system, float system and exterior level gauge.
A booster pump station is located near the reservoir. Water pumped from the well to the reservoir passes through the booster station, where chlorine has been added as a disinfectant since 2022. Water flows by gravity from the reservoir to the booster station, where two booster pumps and three pressure tanks pressurize the water for distribution to Southview’s homes. Pressure-reducing valves in the distribution system maintain safe pressure levels for homes at lower elevations.
The Oregon Health Agency (OHA) is the primary agency for ensuring safe drinking water. OHA requires routine water quality testing to document compliance with drinking water contaminants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Results of testing confirm that Southview’s water complies with EPA and OHA regulations. Click on the following links to view our recent Water Quality Reports.
OHA requires public water systems to have active backflow prevention and cross-connection control programs. The purpose of this program is to protect Southview’s water system from potential contamination backflowing into the distribution system from home irrigation systems, booster systems, hydronic heating systems, etc. The SID must ensure that backflow prevention devices are installed for all homes that have the potential to backflow contamination and that the devices are tested annually by a certified tester.
The EPA adopted revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule in 2021 that include a requirement for public water systems to conduct inventories of service lines and to identify service line material type. The intent of the service line inventory is to identify those service lines made of lead so that they can be scheduled for removal and replacement. By October 16, 2024, all public water systems were required to conduct an inventory of all service lines, on both the water system side and the homeowner side of the meter. SID completed the inventory, determined that none contained lead, and submitted the results to OHA.
Since March 2021, the SID has contracted Delta Operations to operate the water system and to serve as the Direct Responsible Charge. In addition to monthly site visits, water quality sampling, meter readings and annual maintenance activities, Delta Operations monitors the operation remotely via the Cattron Aquavx control panel and Antx Remote iQ software. The system notifies the DRC (by text message) of the following alarm conditions: the reservoir levels drops below 15 feet or rises above 18.5 feet; the discharge pressure falls below 20 psi; and there is a power failure. Carla Grano is Southview’s liaison with Delta. Any questions from Southview members need to be made through Carla. Jackie Polder and Bob Estill are alternate contacts if Carla is not available.
SID is a member of the Oregon Association of Water (OAWU) and the Special District Association of Oregon (SDAO). Membership benefits include training, on-site technical assistance, information resources and support programs.