Heavy Rains Cause Local Flooding Problems and Sewage Pump Station Overflow in Washington County

Hillsboro, OR — January 31, 2003 — Clean Water Services and many cities within Washington County have been working since early Friday morning to keep storm water drainage and sewer systems operating amidst heavy rains that began overnight Thursday.  
    
Clean Water Services called in extra crews beginning at 6:30 a.m. Friday to respond to local flooding problems on Fanno Creek, Rock Creek, Cedar Mill Creek, Johnson Creek and low lying areas in urban Washington County. 

The most severe flooding Clean Water Services has responded to include:

• Tropicana Court off of Butner Road and on SW Devonshire in the Cedar Hills area of Washington County. Both areas are experiencing severe street flooding that is threatening more than a dozen homes. 
  “Cedar Mill Creek and Johnson Creek have topped their banks and backed water up into the public drainage system,” said Mark Jockers, Public Affairs Manager. “The heavy rains have swamped the system and the water doesn’t have anywhere to go.” 
  Earlier in the day, Clean Water Services crews cleared culverts and catch basins in the area in anticipation of the high flows. At 11 a.m., crews began delivering sand and sandbags to the Tropicana and Devonshire neighborhoods. Neighbors immediately began filling sandbags and placing them around homes.
• Fanno Creek at Oleson Road has topped its banks and reportedly flooding the Royal Firs Apartment Complex. In anticipation of the heavy rains, Clean Water Services’ crews check culverts and bridges in the area Thursday night and early Friday morning in anticipation of rain swollen flows on Fanno Creek.

Many other major urban streams in Washington County are continuing to rise with the rainfall, causing street closures and local flooding problems.

Sewage Pump Station Overflows; Collection and Treatment System Keeping Up

The heavy rains have caused the Cross Creek sewage pump station to overflow in Aloha. The area has been posted. Crews are also monitoring 41 sewage pump stations, sewer pipes and manholes to watch for overflows, by no other spills have been reported from the collection system. 

Clean Water Services four wastewater treatment facilities are near capacity as rain-swelled sewer lines dump millions of gallons of water into the plants.

Nearly 150 million gallons a day (mgd) of flow is entering the Rock Creek Facility in Hillsboro. Normal dry weather flow at the facility is about 20 mgd. Operators have been able to keep up with the record high flows by using additional treatment capacity constructed in the last five years. 110 mgd are receiving full treatment; the balance is getting primary treatment with disinfection before being released to the Tualatin River.

“The $65 million of capacity improvements we’ve made in the last five years are helping us handle this record flow,” said Mark Poling, Wastewater Treatment Department Director. 

The Durham Facility in Tigard is also near capacity, providing full treatment of nearly 93 mgd. Dry weather flow at the Durham facility is also about 20 mgd.

Clean Water Services Hillsboro and Forest Grove Plants are keeping up with the heavy flow and providing full treatment.

Clean Water Services has placed additional crews on standby through the weekend and will continue to have sand and sandbags available to residents. Sand and Sandbag self-service sites in Washington County:

• City of Beaverton
  Corner of Canyon and Broadway (enter off Canyon at Texaco Station)
• City of Cornelius
  1300 S Kodiak Circle
• City of Tigard
  On Burnham Road across from Tigard Water District office
• Clean Water Services Field Operations
  2871 SE TV Highway
• City of Hillsboro
  NE 28th, east of Grant Street (in parking lot by tennis courts)
• Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Administration Building
  20665 SW Blanton 

Clean Water Services is the sanitary sewer and surface water management utility for more than 455,000 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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