Summary of Challenges

Making decisions, moving forward

How does the County meet the challenge of protecting our magnificent rivers, ensuring public health and maintaining a diverse and growing economy?

By finding cost-efficient ways of expanding treatment capacity in one of Oregon’s fastest growing areas. New growth will pay its own way, but everyone will contribute.

The challenge is that one of Clackamas County's major wastewater treatment plants is operating beyond capacity. To meet the immediate needs, the district served by the Kellogg Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant leases sewage treatment services from another district as a way to serve some of its customers.

Built in the 1970s and operated by Clackamas County Service District No.1 (CCSD#1), Kellogg Creek serves unincorporated land between Milwaukie and Happy Valley, as well as the cities of Milwaukie and Happy Valley.

Currently, 15 percent of the wastewater created in CCSD#1 is processed at the Tri-City Wastewater Treatment Plant, which provides service for customers in the cities of Oregon City, West Linn and Gladstone (Tri-City District). Tri-City needs that spare treatment capacity back to meet its district’s own growing demands.

Short-term steps

After intense scrutiny of the options, and much debate, the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) has concluded that a $110 million investment is needed to expand treatment capacity at the Tri-City plant to meet the needs of CCSD#1. This, however, is a temporary fix for a fast-growing part of the County. The decision, at best, only buys another eight years worth of growth in treatment capacity. Revenue bonds will be issued this spring to finance plant expansion.

Long-term – Making hard decisions:

How can Kellogg Creek be changed to meet the needs of the community, as well as meeting increasingly high standards for water quality? Should Kellogg Creek be renovated or a new plant built? Should the Tri-City plant – which has room – be expanded even more? Should this be a larger community decision?

In January 2008, the Board formed a community task committee, which is exploring how the County will meet wastewater treatment needs for the next few decades. The committee will look at possible cost savings in system expansion if several sewer districts in the county work collectively.

Huge cost avoidance possible

Preliminary cost estimates released in January 2008 dramatically demonstrate the difference in investment options to meet treatment demands over the next two decades:

Go-it-together: If the various districts pool resources and work together, the investment will be about $585 million between now and 2030.
Go-it-alone: If all the districts go it alone, the estimated cost is slightly more than $1 billion to reach the same treatment capacity.

“The potential cost savings of working collaboratively are huge,” says Ted Kyle, Capacity Management Program director. “It’s the difference between a 7 percent or an 88 percent increase in project capital investment.”

The projection is the work of four consulting engineering firms working with the Capacity Management Program.

What happens if we do nothing?

Failure to meet water quality standards could result in a building moratorium or the state taking over management of county facilities and charging back the cost of operations to residents.

Water treatment standards are rising, as are the threats of increasingly contaminated wastes coming into the system. Watch the video – "The North Clackamas Challenge" – to see how County residents are affected by these decisions.

How will we pay for improved systems?

During the 1970s, when the Clean Water Act was passed, the Federal Government paid most of the costs for wastewater treatment plant and sewer line development. Local governments paid about one-third. Today, local governments and ratepayers bear the costs of system improvements.

As systems grow to meet demands in Clackamas County, new users pay for their share of growth through what's known as system development charges (SDCs). It's estimated that SDCs will fund a major part of the $110 million needed for expansion to treat the overflow Kellogg Creek cannot handle.

Stay informed

This Capacity Management Program Web site was developed by WES to keep the community informed about what’s been done for short-term needs and what happens next. This site also will give readers the tools they need to be informed participants in decisions that inevitably will shape Clackamas County for the next 50 years.