Clean Water Services
Encyclopedia
Clean Water Services is the water resource management utility for more than 500,000 residents in urban Washington County, Oregon
and small portions of Multnomah County, Oregon
and Clackamas County, Oregon
, in the United States
. Clean Water Services operates four wastewater treatment facilities
, constructs and maintains flood management and water quality projects, and manages flow into the Tualatin River
to improve water quality and protect fish habitat. They are headquartered in Hillsboro
.
As population continued to grow in the service area of USA, the water quality of the Tualatin River worsened. In 1986, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center filed a lawsuit against the United States Environmental Protection Agency
, prompting Total Daily Maximum Loads for the Tualatin River. A Clean Water Act
amendment adds regulation of storm-water runoff, and the Rock Creek Facility achieves 99% removal of ammonia nitrogen. In 1988, the Tualatin Valley Water Quality Endowment Fund is established by the Northwest Environmental Defense Center lawsuit.
USA worked to maintain the quality of the Tualatin River by establishing Surface Water Management (SWM) utility for water quality and drainage in 1990, and began a $200 million facility expansion and upgrade program to meet compliance deadlines. That same year, the agency established the River Rangers program. USA begins consumption-based rates and combines billing with water providers in 1994.
In July 2001, the United Sewerage Agency renamed itself as Clean Water Service at a cost of $60,000. Clean Water Service's Operations Building opened in 2003, which is used as a showcase of low impact development and the Administrative Building Complex opens. It is the first LEED Gold certified public building in Washington County. In 2004, the agency began a program to add shade along the watersheds streams and river by planting trees and shrubs to lower temperatures of the waterways. This program received approval from environmental regulators and was in lieu of spending $150 million to build chilling systems at the four treatment facilities.
The agency's Rock Creek facility won an EPA National Clean Water Act Recognition Award in 2006, and in 2008 the Durham facility's Influent Pump Station is the first to earn LEED Silver certification. The following year the Durham plant becomes the United States' first wastewater treatment plant to produce commercial fertilizer. In 2010, the Clean Water Institute was established by the agency.
, Tigard
, Tualatin
, Hillsboro
, King City
, Forest Grove
, Sherwood
, Cornelius
, Banks
, Gaston
, Durham
, and North Plains
.
Clean Water Services is a special service district that serves as a separately managed and financed public utility. The Washington County Commissioners serve as the board of directors for Clean Water Services.
As a wastewater utility, Clean Water Services cleans more than 60 million USgals (227,124.7 m³) of wastewater a day. The watewater treatment process uses physical, biological, and chemical treatment to clean wastewater to some of the highest standards in the nation. The cleaned wastewater is then released into the Tualatin River. The wastewater is collected by a vast network of more than 800 miles (1,287.5 km) of sewer lines and 39 pump stations and routed to one of four treatment plants—Durham, Rock Creek, Hillsboro and Forest Grove.
Ten percent of the wastewater treated by Clean Water Services is used for irrigation and in area wetlands during the summer months. Biosolids recovered through the treatment process are sold to farmers in the region as fertilizer. Additionally, the Durham Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility is the first in the nation to recover fertilizer from a natural byproduct of wastewater treatment. In 2007 the Durham facility began working with Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies to construct a $2.5 million multi-reactor plant that allows the Durham facility to run part of its waste stream through special reactors that transform potentially damaging nutrients into environmentally friendly fertilizer, which Ostara sells commercially.
As a surface water management utility, The District’s Stormwater Management (SWM) program improves water quality, protects fish habitat and manages drainage by operating and maintaining the stormwater conveyance system, establishing design and construction standards, regulating activities that can impact the watershed and enhancing streams and floodplains. Clean Water Services is the regional SWM utility for urban Washington County. In cooperation with Washington County and the 12 member cities Clean Water Services maintains and enhances the public drainage system to meet public needs and to comply with strict water quality regulations set for the Tualatin River drainage area by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
Clean Water Services offers a classroom educational program called River Rangers geared toward 4th-grade students. Environmental educators interactively teach students about the water cycle, watersheds, surface water pollution, water conservation and wastewater treament. The 45-minute presentation is used to educate students about how people impact water quality through use of sewer and storm systems.
meanders slowly through relatively flat terrain, draining more than 700 square miles (1,813 km²) of forested, agricultural and urban areas before joining the Willamette River. The Tualatin is Washington County's only river, and it is used for the regional drinking water supply, agricultural irrigation, and recreational activities. Clean Water Services has worked to protect the health of the watershed through programs such as the planting of trees and shrubs along the water corridors.
These options are:
Washington County, Oregon
- Major highways :* Interstate 5* Interstate 205* U.S. Route 26* Oregon Route 6* Oregon Route 8* Oregon Route 10* Oregon Route 47* Oregon Route 99W* Oregon Route 210* Oregon Route 217* Oregon Route 219-Demographics:...
and small portions of Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city...
and Clackamas County, Oregon
Clackamas County, Oregon
Clackamas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county was named after the Native Americans living in the area, the Clackamas Indians, who were part of the Chinookan people. As of 2010, the population was 375,992...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Clean Water Services operates four wastewater treatment facilities
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
, constructs and maintains flood management and water quality projects, and manages flow into the Tualatin River
Tualatin River
The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River located in Oregon in the United States. The river is approximately long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley...
to improve water quality and protect fish habitat. They are headquartered in Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
.
History
In 1969, Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality placed a temporary halt to new construction in Washington County. On February 3, 1970, ten cities and sixteen sanitary districts combined to form the Unified Sewerage Agency (USA). Later that year voters in the new district approved a $36 million bond measure to consolidate, construct and upgrade USA's regional public wastewater treatment facilities. The Durham Wastewater Treatment Facility opened in 1976, which replaced 14 smaller treatment plants. Two years later six more treatment plants were replaced with the opening of the Rock Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility.As population continued to grow in the service area of USA, the water quality of the Tualatin River worsened. In 1986, the Northwest Environmental Defense Center filed a lawsuit against the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
, prompting Total Daily Maximum Loads for the Tualatin River. A Clean Water Act
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985, and ensuring that...
amendment adds regulation of storm-water runoff, and the Rock Creek Facility achieves 99% removal of ammonia nitrogen. In 1988, the Tualatin Valley Water Quality Endowment Fund is established by the Northwest Environmental Defense Center lawsuit.
USA worked to maintain the quality of the Tualatin River by establishing Surface Water Management (SWM) utility for water quality and drainage in 1990, and began a $200 million facility expansion and upgrade program to meet compliance deadlines. That same year, the agency established the River Rangers program. USA begins consumption-based rates and combines billing with water providers in 1994.
In July 2001, the United Sewerage Agency renamed itself as Clean Water Service at a cost of $60,000. Clean Water Service's Operations Building opened in 2003, which is used as a showcase of low impact development and the Administrative Building Complex opens. It is the first LEED Gold certified public building in Washington County. In 2004, the agency began a program to add shade along the watersheds streams and river by planting trees and shrubs to lower temperatures of the waterways. This program received approval from environmental regulators and was in lieu of spending $150 million to build chilling systems at the four treatment facilities.
The agency's Rock Creek facility won an EPA National Clean Water Act Recognition Award in 2006, and in 2008 the Durham facility's Influent Pump Station is the first to earn LEED Silver certification. The following year the Durham plant becomes the United States' first wastewater treatment plant to produce commercial fertilizer. In 2010, the Clean Water Institute was established by the agency.
Services
Clean Water Services provides stormwater and wastewater services in partnership with 12 member cities that include; BeavertonBeaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley.As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon's sixth-largest city...
, Tigard
Tigard, Oregon
Tigard is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. The population was 48,035 at the 2010 census. As of 2007, Tigard was the state's 12th largest city. Incorporated in 1961, the city is located south of Beaverton and north of Tualatin, and is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, Tualatin
Tualatin, Oregon
Tualatin is a city located primarily in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon. A small portion of the city is also located in neighboring Clackamas County. It is a southwestern suburb in the Portland Metropolitan Area that is located south of Tigard...
, Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
, King City
King City, Oregon
King City is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Its name was picked arbitrarily by the Tualatin Development Company, Inc., which used a royalty theme in naming the city streets. The population was 1,949 at the 2000 census. The 2006 estimate was 2,350 residents.- History:Created as...
, Forest Grove
Forest Grove, Oregon
Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a bedroom suburb of Portland. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850 and then incorporated in 1872 and was the first city in Washington County...
, Sherwood
Sherwood, Oregon
Sherwood is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Located in the southeast corner of the county, it is a residential community in the Tualatin Valley southwest of Portland. The population was 11,791 at the 2000 census. The 2006 estimate is 16,115 residents...
, Cornelius
Cornelius, Oregon
Cornelius is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. The population was 9,652 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 10,895 residents.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, Banks
Banks, Oregon
Banks is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,777 at the 2010 census. The community was named for settler Robert Banks and his father, John Banks.-Geography:...
, Gaston
Gaston, Oregon
Gaston is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. The population was 600 at the 2000 census. The 2006 estimate is 630 residents.-Early history:...
, Durham
Durham, Oregon
Durham is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Incorporated in 1966, the city is surrounded by Tigard and Tualatin and is adjacent to the Bridgeport Village shopping complex. The population was 1,382 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 1,395 residents.-History:The city was named...
, and North Plains
North Plains, Oregon
North Plains is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, off U.S. 26 on the northwest outskirts of the Portland metropolitan area. The population was 1,605 at the 2000 census; by July 2007 the population was estimated to be 1,813.-Geography:...
.
Clean Water Services is a special service district that serves as a separately managed and financed public utility. The Washington County Commissioners serve as the board of directors for Clean Water Services.
As a wastewater utility, Clean Water Services cleans more than 60 million USgals (227,124.7 m³) of wastewater a day. The watewater treatment process uses physical, biological, and chemical treatment to clean wastewater to some of the highest standards in the nation. The cleaned wastewater is then released into the Tualatin River. The wastewater is collected by a vast network of more than 800 miles (1,287.5 km) of sewer lines and 39 pump stations and routed to one of four treatment plants—Durham, Rock Creek, Hillsboro and Forest Grove.
Ten percent of the wastewater treated by Clean Water Services is used for irrigation and in area wetlands during the summer months. Biosolids recovered through the treatment process are sold to farmers in the region as fertilizer. Additionally, the Durham Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility is the first in the nation to recover fertilizer from a natural byproduct of wastewater treatment. In 2007 the Durham facility began working with Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies to construct a $2.5 million multi-reactor plant that allows the Durham facility to run part of its waste stream through special reactors that transform potentially damaging nutrients into environmentally friendly fertilizer, which Ostara sells commercially.
As a surface water management utility, The District’s Stormwater Management (SWM) program improves water quality, protects fish habitat and manages drainage by operating and maintaining the stormwater conveyance system, establishing design and construction standards, regulating activities that can impact the watershed and enhancing streams and floodplains. Clean Water Services is the regional SWM utility for urban Washington County. In cooperation with Washington County and the 12 member cities Clean Water Services maintains and enhances the public drainage system to meet public needs and to comply with strict water quality regulations set for the Tualatin River drainage area by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
Clean Water Services offers a classroom educational program called River Rangers geared toward 4th-grade students. Environmental educators interactively teach students about the water cycle, watersheds, surface water pollution, water conservation and wastewater treament. The 45-minute presentation is used to educate students about how people impact water quality through use of sewer and storm systems.
Tualatin River
The 80 miles (128.7 km)-long Tualatin RiverTualatin River
The Tualatin River is a tributary of the Willamette River located in Oregon in the United States. The river is approximately long, and it drains a fertile farming region called the Tualatin Valley southwest and west of Portland at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley...
meanders slowly through relatively flat terrain, draining more than 700 square miles (1,813 km²) of forested, agricultural and urban areas before joining the Willamette River. The Tualatin is Washington County's only river, and it is used for the regional drinking water supply, agricultural irrigation, and recreational activities. Clean Water Services has worked to protect the health of the watershed through programs such as the planting of trees and shrubs along the water corridors.
Water supply
As communities in the Tualatin Basin continue to grow, more water will be needed for municipal and industrial uses. In addition, more water is needed to augment flow in the Tualatin River and its tributaries for water quality. The two water supply options being considered assume aggressive conservation targets for homes and businesses, wastewater reuse, and aquifer storage and recovery.These options are:
- A 40 feet (12.2 m) dam raise at Henry Hagg LakeHenry Hagg LakeHenry Hagg Lake is an artificial lake in northwest Oregon, United States, which is an impoundment of Scoggins Creek which drains a small portion of the eastern side of Northern Oregon Coast Range. The lake and creek are part of the Tualatin River’s watershed in the Tualatin Valley...
with a raw water pipeline pumpback. - A multiple source option that includes a 25 feet (7.6 m) dam raise at Hagg Lake with a raw water pipeline pumpback and expansion of the Willamette River Water Treatment Plant for municipal uses.