Land Application Of Treated Wastewater Tackles Touchy Challenge

By Steve Werblow

Faced with drastic state-mandated cuts in the amount of phosphorus, nitrogen, and warm water that could be discharged into the southern Oregon’s South Umpqua River, the Roseburg Urban Sanitary Authority (RUSA) decided to think big about how to modify its wastewater treatment plans — to the tune of 340 acres.

The South Umpqua flows through Roseburg, OR. It’s a popular fly fishing river renowned for its salmon, steelhead, and trout. In fact, the Umpqua system is home to more wild coho salmon spawners than any other river system in Oregon — 15% of the coho salmon that spawn along the West Coast.