Reservoir break-in prompts security review.

Byline: Jeff Wright The Register-Guard

CORRECTION (ran 9/9/2006): The Eugene Water & Electric Board found no fecal bacteria, such as E. coli, at the College Hill Reservoir after a break-in at the reservoir on Aug. 25. Water tests did detect a form of nonfecal coliform commonly present in soil and vegetation. An article on Page A1 on Friday contained incorrect information about testing of the reservoir.

Eugene Water & Electric Board officials are looking at improved security measures - including improved response from city police - as a result of a recent break-in at the popular College Hill Reservoir.

The 15 million-gallon reservoir was drained after EWEB officials found signs of possible water contamination.

Alerted by a detection system at the reservoir, officials reported the potential security breach to Eugene police, who said they wouldn't respond unless an intrusion could be verified.

After answering nearly 6,000 false alarms annually, city police in 2002 announced a policy of not responding to most alarm system calls without evidence of a crime in progress.

When police declined to investigate the late August reservoir break-in, two EWEB technicians checked and found that someone had removed a lock from the "head house" atop the reservoir's roof and gained access into the reservoir. Locks on an interior chain-link gate and on a door to the reservoir's "catacombs" also were missing.

The concrete-topped structure is sandwiched between Lincoln and Lawrence streets. Neighbors campaigned to keep the reservoir's roof open to the public after EWEB moved to build a fence around it to protect it from sabotage.

An engineer's study released in June found that the reservoir can safely withstand the weight of visitors who like to gather on its roof to stroll or stargaze.

The break-in occurred just before 10 p.m. on Aug. 25. EWEB officials say they immediately isolated the 67-year-old reservoir from the utility's water distribution system and took test samples the next day.

While normal sampling points lower in the reservoir showed no signs of contamination, two surface samples showed low levels of E. coli bacteria. It was unclear whether the contamination was related to the break-in; nonetheless, as a precaution, EWEB drained, cleaned, disinfected and retested the reservoir before returning it to service.

In another precaution, EWEB inspected its other reservoirs and found no evidence of entry or tampering. Locks at the other reservoirs were changed last week.

The police department's policy on passive alarm systems includes several exceptions: Officers still respond to alarms that sound at law enforcement offices or jails, or at businesses known to sell or store firearms. Police also are to respond to alarms that sound at locations that, "based on reliable information," are deemed to be "potential terrorist targets."

Might not a water reservoir be such a potential target?

EWEB General Manager Randy Berggren thinks so. "We've got a facility here that needs a response because it is a potential terrorist target," he said. "Water quality is a public health and safety issue."

Eugene police Capt. Chuck Tilby is inclined to agree. Tilby said he assumed, wrongly, that water reservoirs already were on the police department's exception list for alarm responses. He said the time may be right to add them to the list.

"Now that we know about this, we'll look at it pretty hard," he said.

Tilby said the likelihood of anyone successfully poisoning a city water system is remote. "However, it is critical infrastructure, and there are things about a water supply you want to protect," he said. "We protect a lot of things not because they're a likely target but because they are infrastructure."

Tilby said police are always trying to balance the desire to prevent burglaries with how to best manage limited police resources. When it comes to not responding to alarms, "we know we're going to miss some; however, we also know we're not missing very many."

INSIDE Road fee collection: EWEB balks at the city's suggestion that a new charge for street repairs should appear on utility bills / C1