Milk visible in the water following a semi-truck crash near Belknap Springs on May 15, 2026 (Photo courtesy of EWEB).

The Eugene Water & Electric Board and the Upper McKenzie Rural Fire Protection District deployed spill response measures after a semi-truck carrying 275 gallons of diesel and thousands of gallons of milk crashed near a creek that flows into the upper McKenzie River.

At around 4:30 a.m., a tanker truck crashed near Belknap Springs, about an hour and a half east of Eugene. It was estimated to be carrying between 5,000 and 7,000 gallons of milk, which spilled into the water. McKenzie Watershed Emergency Response partners mobilized to contain the spill and do not expect drinking water to be impacted. The total volume of material that entered the water is still being assessed, according to a press release from EWEB.

Mitigation measures have been implemented, including a boom across Trail Bridge Reservoir, where milk is visible after the spill. EWEB Water Resources and Quality Assurance Supervisor Susan Fricke said in the press release that it would take a “significant amount of time” before the milk and diesel would reach EWEB’s Hayden Bridge Drinking Water Treatment Plant.

Additional responding agencies included Upper McKenzie Fire & Rescue, the Springfield Utility Board, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Region 2 HazMat and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

EWEB and its McKenzie River partners conducted a spill response drill at this location last fall, which the release said helped prepare response teams for an incident of this nature.

According to Oregon State Police, the 30-year-old truck driver fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed down an embankment along Highway 126. The driver did not require medical transport, and the vehicle has since been towed.