Rainbow Water District is part of a broader network of water utilities, providing increased resilience and the ability to respond to and recover from a disaster.

Outside of the metro area, Rainbow formed a Small System Support Network to partner with and serve some rural water systems near Springfield. These are independent entities, with their own governing bodies and water sources. Rainbow provides mostly remote support that can include oversight from a state-licensed water operator, repairs, technical assistance, billing services and customer service by phone and email.

Within the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area, Rainbow has interconnected piping with the Springfield Utility Board, allowing supply sources from both water utilities to support the SUB and Rainbow service areas. SUB and Rainbow also have emergency interties, points of connection with the Eugene Water & Electric Board, that could be utilized in an emergency for provision of a limited amount of water from one city to the other. Some of these water sources are connected to generators for backup power allowing reduced capacity operations. Water stored in reservoirs can also help with shorter duration power outages.

At the state level, Rainbow is a member of ORWARN, the Oregon Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network. Like the mutual aid agreements that fire districts and electric utilities utilize to support each other during winter storms and wildfires, ORWARN allows water and wastewater utilities to call upon each other for help with staffing and equipment in emergencies.
 

SMALL SYSTEM NETWORK

• Marcola Water District, PWS ID# OR41-00839
  Incorporated September 13, 1940 as an ORS Chapter 264 water district. Rainbow contract partner since 1994. Rainbow provides DRC, operations oversight, technical assistance, billing/bookkeeping, customer service. District has 216 active connections including an elementary school and a high school.
   
• Shangri-La Water District, PWS ID# OR41-00835
  Incorporated in 1969 as an ORS Chapter 264 water district. Rainbow contract partner since 2015. Rainbow provides DRC, operations oversight, technical assistance. District serves 93 homes.
  (Shangri-La maintains their own website.)
   
• Deerhorn Community Water Association, PWS ID# OR41-00833
  Incorporated June 28, 1968 as an ORS Chapter 62 non-profit cooperative corporation. Rainbow contract partner since 2015. Rainbow provides DRC, operations oversight, technical assistance, billing/bookeeping, customer service. System serves 122 homes.
   
• Shenandoah Homeowners Inc., PWS ID# OR41-00836
  Incorporated August 11, 1965 as an ORS Chapter 65 non-profit mutual benefit corporation. Rainbwo contract partner since 2019. Rainbow provides DRC, operations oversight, technical assistance. System serves 33 homes.
   
• Blue River Water District, PWS ID# OR41-00836
  Incorporated July 7, 1964 as an ORS Chapter 264 water district. Rainbow contract partner since 2020. Rainbow provides technical assistance, billing, customer service, accounts receivable. District is rebuilding from the Holiday Farm Fire and currently serves 96 connections including a school.
  (Blue River maintains their own website.)

Rainbow is proud of the work that we do working with and learning from these small systems and their dedicated operators. In 2022 we received an award from the Special Districts Association of Oregon for our innovative network.