Congressional Delegation Successful in Securing Legislation to Study Long-Term Washington County Water Supply Options: President Bush Signs Bill into Law

Hillsboro, OR — December 2, 2003 — Senator Gordon Smith, Senator Ron Wyden and Congressman David Wu have been successful in securing a provision in a bill signed this week by President Bush that directs the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to move forward on the Tualatin Basin Water Supply Feasibility Study (WSFS).  The provision was included in the “Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2004” (P.L. 108-137) signed by President Bush on December 1, 2003. It was jointly authored by Senator Smith and Congressman Wu and supported by Senator Wyden. The WSFS is studying three alternatives for providing a long-term, dependable water supply for Washington County.  
    
“This project is of critical importance to the future of Washington County and our entire region,” said Washington County Commission and Clean Water Services’ Board Chair Tom Brian. “Our economy, environment and quality of life are dependent upon successfully meeting the growing municipal, industrial, agricultural and environmental water needs of our community.”
    
The WSFS shows that demand for water in Washington County is expected to double by the year 2050. In addition to needing water for homes, businesses and agriculture, water is needed to restore flows to the Tualatin River and its tributaries to improve water quality and protect stream health.
    
The WSFS Policy Steering Committee, made up of elected and appointed officials, is evaluating three alternatives for meeting the future demand: raising Scoggins Dam 20 feet, raising Scoggins Dam 40 feet, and building an irrigation exchange pipeline from the Willamette River. The Policy Steering Committee is expected to select a preferred alternative in the spring of 2004.
     
“Our congressional delegation has done a great job securing authorization to move forward with the study,” said Washington County Commission and Clean Water Services’ Board Chair Tom Brian. “Now we’ll get to work to secure the money to complete the environmental impact statement.”
    
Senators Smith and Wyden and Congressman Wu have requested that the Administration include $2.9 million in the fiscal year 2005 BOR budget to finish the study and fund the environmental impact statement (EIS). The total cost of the EIS is $6.87 million, of which the local WSFS partners are contributing 55 percent.
    
The WSFS study partners include Clean Water Services, the Cities of Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tualatin, Tigard, Sherwood, Forest Grove, North Plains, and Cornelius, the Tualatin Valley Water District, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The WSFS Partners have invested $1.2 million in studying the needs and options for meeting future water demands. 
    
Clean Water Services is the sanitary sewer and surface water management utility for more than 463,000 customers in urban Washington County and small portions of Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Lake Oswego, and Portland. Clean Water Services operates four wastewater treatment plants, constructs and maintains flood management and water quality projects and manages flow in the Tualatin River to improve water quality and protect fish habitat. Although Clean Water Services maintains a close working relationship with Washington County government, it is a separately managed and financed public utility.

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