Since 1970, Clean Water Services has worked to protect public health while enhancing the natural environment of the Tualatin River Watershed. We help the people and businesses in the region grow and thrive by looking at the needs of our watershed as a whole, and taking the long view on what investments are needed to serve the people who live here well into the future. This annual review shares highlights from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, and our dedication to the river, our communities, and each other.
Message from the CEO
The people and businesses of Washington County rely greatly on our only river. A healthy Tualatin River is a source of water for drinking, irrigation, recreation, and industry. It provides crucial habitat for plants and wildlife. It supports our economy and communities as they grow and change.
We’ve seen what happens to our small, slow, sensitive river when we aren’t ahead of the curve. CWS exists because years of poorly treated wastewater had left the Tualatin River choked and polluted by the late 1960s. In the over half a century since, CWS has responded to the needs of our river and growing community by expanding from wastewater treatment into resource recovery and stormwater services; helping to create the nation’s first integrated, watershed-based National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit; making smart investments in our workforce and infrastructure; and being led by science as we respond to challenges such as PFAS and the emerald ash borer.
Today, CWS is known as an innovative leader in the water sector because the uniquely challenging Tualatin River requires all of us — our customers, staff, volunteers, Board of Directors, partner cities, and partner organizations — to rise to the occasion. For the Tualatin River to remain the vital, healthy resource it is today as we adapt to a rapidly changing climate and serve a growing community, we all need to row together to remain ahead of the curve.
With gratitude,
Diane Taniguchi-Dennis, CEO
CWS Culture
Clean Water Services is a learning organization, committed to creating opportunities for people in every part of the organization to learn, grow, and thrive.
Our Values
Hundreds of staff members participated in the recent revitalization of our decades-old organizational values. Through focus groups and surveys, these values emerged:
These values were created by staff, for staff. They provide a common understanding of who we are, inform work-related decisions of all kinds, integrate into organizational systems, and reflect our best days.
Supporting Future Leaders Today
Clean Water LEADERS is one of the new learning opportunities at CWS. Admission is by application and the first 15-person cohort graduated in March 2024. Over a series of half-day sessions that address different aspects of leadership, participants develop skills, knowledge, perspective, and connections.
A Warm Welcome to Clean Water
Through the organizational onboarding program that launched this year, all new regular employees complete a series of six, monthly sessions. Each session is at a different CWS location. The program intends to help new staff build their internal networks, understand how the organization functions, and see their place in the bigger picture.
Resources and Relationships
Our third employee resource group (ERG) launched this year. The Veterans ERG joins the Multicultural Committee and the Gender Equity Network in providing employee-led affinity space for staff with shared experiences. The ERGs discuss opportunities for organizational improvement, develop leadership skills, and make recommendations to leadership, as does the Employee Advisory Council, which includes representatives from all CWS facilities. Each group has a sponsor from the CWS executive team.
New Chief of Staff
Elizabeth Edwards joined Clean Water Services as Chief of Staff in May 2024. She is a member of the Oregon State Bar, with extensive background in environmental, water, land use, and general government policy. Edwards serves as the liaison with the Clean Water Services Board of Directors and the Clean Water Services Advisory Commission. Her work includes executive oversight to the CWS legislative and government affairs agenda, developing emergency management and natural hazards mitigation programs, and working with teams to sequence initiatives to implement the CWS Climate Action Roadmap.
Giving Back to Our Community
CWS team members show dedication to our communities in many ways, on and off the clock. One team took on a group volunteer project at the Oregon Food Bank, packing 4,863 pounds of frozen potatoes to be used in holiday meals for community members in need.
We collect monetary donations for local food banks at our Annual Leaf Disposal and Food Drive events. In 2023, we raised more than $1,000 for local food banks.
Remembering Art Larrance and Water Reuse
Art Larrance’s impact on Oregon’s brewing culture and industry were rightfully lauded following his passing in May 2024, but his influence was also felt closer to home for CWS. While serving on the Clean Water Services Advisory Commission, Larrance was a key figure in developing Pure Water Brew. The project drew national and international attention around water reuse in Oregon and around the world.
Community Investments
Exploring the Environment with eDNA
CWS expanded its use of a method called environmental DNA (eDNA) testing. For example, by testing for eDNA — cellular material left behind by organisms — in Gales Creek, we were able to detect the presence of Pacific lamprey for the first time upstream of the former site of the Balm Grove Dam, indicating a successful return after the fish barrier was removed. Insights like this into how aquatic life behaves in the watershed help us make informed decisions when project planning, ensuring these species are safe, protected, and can thrive.
Sharing Native Plants
To encourage more native plants in neighborhood yards, we give plants to Washington County residents through annual events. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, we focused outreach and distribution of more than 2,000 native plants to residents in our service area who have not participated in past events. In addition to our annual fall event at the Tualatin River Farm, we partnered with Centro Cultural to hand out plants at its Dia de Los Niños celebration in Cornelius. To help build enthusiasm for native plants, we provided species that were edible, medicinal, and flowering.
Progress with PFAS
We are a leader in per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) research. Scientists in our lab collected 568 samples last fiscal year, from our own properties and systems and throughout the watershed. We acquired new equipment to analyze samples in our own lab, saving time and hundreds of dollars per sample compared to using a commercial lab. We work with local industries to identify PFAS sources and help determine ways to lower the amount of PFAS coming into our facilities. We are now partnering with researchers at Oregon State University to determine if PFAS leave “fingerprints,” which can help us identify sources of PFAS locally and globally. Our work to understand PFAS earned us an Outstanding Agency award from the Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies.
"FOG" Milestone
To keep fats, oils, and grease (FOG) out of drains, we invite food trucks and restaurants to dispose of FOG at our facilities. Last fiscal year, the system at our Durham facility separated a record amount of FOG — nearly 13 million gallons! FOG is repurposed as fuel for generators at the facility, producing 11.4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. Overall, the program is keeping FOG out of pipes and saving ratepayer dollars by producing energy.
High-Strength Waste
We launched a pilot project to increase energy production by harnessing high-strength waste (HSW) from local industries. Biogas is one of the major resources that can be generated at water resource recovery facilities, and we have traditionally used this resource in a cogeneration system for heat and power. High-strength waste is stronger and has more potential for energy creation than residential waste. Traditional disposal of HSW also costs more, is less sustainable, and has greater environmental impact than using it for co-digestion.
Getting Ahead of Major Weather
We are taking a step forward in tackling wet weather challenges with an innovative new tool: the floating camera balls (FCB). These 3D-printed, watertight spheres — equipped with 360-degree GoPro cameras, floatation, batteries, and illumination — are designed to travel through the sanitary sewer system. By capturing real-time video footage during rain storms, FCBs help identify leaks and defects in the pipes, providing crucial data for repair and replacement projects. The FCB project is in partnership with students at Portland State University, where students constructed additional prototypes and identified a high-priority testing area using flow monitor and rain gauge data. The project has great potential for cost-effective, scalable leak and defect detection, and opens the door to new innovative applications.
Education
The 2023-24 school year was full of exciting growth. The CWS education team expanded its resources, increasing our expertise and capacity to help meet education goals and serve audiences in the field and classroom. Over the course of the school year, more than 9,000 students participated in at least one in-person presentation, lab, or field experience delivered or funded by CWS.
The education team also unveiled an updated education van, designed to teach the public about stormwater pollution prevention. The bilingual tag line, “If it goes on the ground, it goes in the river/ Si llega al suelo, también llega al río,” reminds Washington County residents that we all play an important role in protecting the health of the Tualatin River.
Look for the van and education team out in the community, at events, presentations, and tours. Read more about our education programs and partnerships in our Student Education Annual Report.
Climate Resiliency
We are finding new ways to preserve natural resources while meeting the needs of the community. Climate change is presenting new challenges as we continue to protect public health and the environment. We are updating our Climate Action Roadmap, which provides strategic direction for the organization. Below are a few examples of projects that support CWS’ climate approach.
Water Reuse
In 2024, we started delivering reuse water to a golf course in Aloha, nearly doubling the amount of reuse water we produce annually. We provide reuse water across the region to parks, schools, and more, and for ecological restoration. Recycling water for beneficial purposes can help our communities be more resilient and our water supply more stable.
Leveraging Resilient Plants
We use hundreds of thousands of native plants in revegetation projects each year. The current and predicted impacts of climate change and drought prompted us to invest in resilient plant options. CWS and partners are strategizing by testing plant material from areas that are drier and hotter (like Northern California) and can withstand the changing climate of the Tualatin River Watershed. In other words, we are using plants from warmer climates today that match the projected future climate of the Tualatin River Watershed. Additionally, the shade these plants provide helps keep local waterways cool and safe for wildlife and reliable as a community resource.
Awards
WEFTEC Operation Challenge: The Wastewater Olympics
A CWS team won its division in the Operations Challenge at the Water Environment Federation’s WEFTEC conference in October 2023, a first for our organization. Two five-member teams qualified to represent CWS at the international conference. The challenge demonstrates what goes on behind the scenes at water resource recovery facilities and highlights the skills of wastewater collection and treatment professionals in the areas of collection systems, laboratory, process control, maintenance, and safety. One analyst called the Ops Challenge “the very best workforce development program in existence.”
Cedar Mill Creek
In 2024, Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies awarded us an Outstanding Agency award for our Cedar Mill Creek project, which took place between 2021 and 2022 in and around Tualatin Hills Nature Park. The award was in the Policy and Planning for Multi-Objective Clean Water Projects category. We also received the 2023 Project of the Year Award from the American Public Works Association. For this project, we worked closely with partners, including Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, Washington County, regulatory agencies, and more, to replace an aging sanitary sewer pipe and invest in the local environment and wildlife habitat.
Leaders in PFAS Research
ACWA presented us with an Outstanding Agency Award in the Pollution Prevention category for our work and research related to PFAS. Since 2019, we have collected hundreds of samples to study PFAS in the region and established an in-house PFAS lab to cut costs associated with commercial testing, prepare for changing PFAS regulations, and give CWS the opportunity to share data with other agencies.
Utility of the Future
The Water Environment Foundation (WEF) has honored CWS with the Utility of the Future award in the Watershed Stewardship category. We have been recognized as a water resources Utility of the Future since 2016.
Peak Performance
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies has once again recognized CWS for excellence in wastewater treatment as outlined by our NPDES permit. We accepted four Peak Performance awards— three Platinum and one Silver— for 2023.
National Association of Clean Water Agencies
For his decades of service as a CWS board member, NACWA presented Roy Rogers with the Public Service Award for National Environmental Achievement. For nearly 40 years, Rogers has provided superior service and value to ratepayers through challenging social and economic times that demand the best from public officials. Under his leadership, CWS has helped set strategic initiatives and championed competitiveness, innovation, partnerships, and sustainability for water resource management.
Budget
Our Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-25 reflects this time of thoughtful transformation of our business and workforce as we respond to challenges and build toward long-term solutions. We are dedicated to keeping rates reasonable and predictable and providing value for ratepayers through a livable community. Explore the Budget to see how.
Partnerships
Our Neighbors, Our Partners
We’re developing new intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) with Washington County and the cities in our service area. These IGAs govern how we provide sanitary sewer and surface water management services to people in the urban areas of the Tualatin River Watershed. We signed an IGA with Hillsboro and we’re working on new agreements with Beaverton, Cornelius, and Washington County to redefine how we work together to meet the needs of our customers and the region with the goal to develop new IGAs with all our partner cities and Washington County
Slowing the Spread
We partner with local, state, and federal organizations to mitigate the impacts of the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB) beetle. EAB kills ash trees, one of the main shade trees for the Tualatin River Watershed. Without these shade trees, the river and its tributaries are at risk of becoming too warm and unsustainable for the wildlife that relies on them. We are studying the projected impacts of losing these shade trees and proactively determining solutions.
During the 2023-24 fiscal year, we worked with Tree for All and with the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District to grow and study plants that are more tolerant of heat and drought and could help replace ash trees killed by EAB. Read more in the Climate section above.
CWS also began planning for the 2024 Oregon Invasive Species Council’s summit, focused on EAB and its impact on the watershed. We continue to partner with the Oregon Departments of Agriculture and Forestry to slow the spread.