Bridge is Built to Protect Stream Corridor

Hillsboro, OR — October 5, 2004— Clean Water Services is constructing an 80-foot pedestrian bridge to carry a sanitary sewer pipe over the heavily-treed, steep canyon of a Cedar Mill Creek tributary. Friday morning, a crane will hoist the entire bridge into place. This is the first time the District has built a bridge in order to carry a sewer line because this approach will have less impact on the environmentally-sensitive area than other alternatives.

The sewer line is for a local improvement district voted for by property owners to bring sanitary sewer service to their 28 lots on 40 acres south of NW McDaniel Road between 111th and 119th Avenues. The project is constructing 5,400 feet of 8-inch sanitary trunk line, 42 manholes and 1,200 feet of 4-inch lateral pipe connecting homes to the trunk line.

“The project is in an area that is like a lost paradise within the urban growth boundary,” said Duke Tran, Clean Water Services’ project manager. The project area has mature cedar, alder and maple trees with slopes that are steeper than 25 percent in some places. Neighbors report that mink, bobcat, deer, raccoons and a variety of birds live there.

Clean Water Services used a special Request for Proposal bidding process in which the contractor is selected on the basis of ability, experience and price instead of simply being the lowest bidder. The contractor for this project is Cascade Equipment & Construction Inc. who has experience working in environmentally sensitive areas. Trees have been painstakingly avoided when possible, and the project will conclude with an extensive restoration planting of approximately 3,000 native trees and shrubs.

Clean Water Services is the sanitary sewer and surface water management utility for 473,000 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, manages flow in the Tualatin River, and works with 12 member cities to improve water quality, protect fish habitat and manage flooding in area streams. 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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