Clean Water News & Stories

The Nature of Green Infrastructure

Proper maintenance of vegetated water quality facilities is vital to protecting our local river and streams and avoiding expensive repairs. 

The Nature of Green Infrastructure online training, offered in both Spanish and English, is a cost-effective resource for landscape maintenance contractors, private property owners, and municipal staff looking to effectively inspect, maintain and ensure the compliance of vegetated water quality facilities. 

The Nature of Green Infrastructure course — presented by Clean Water Services — costs just $195 and can be completed in a few hours. Designed to be accessible to various kinds of learners, the course can be taken and retaken at a participant’s own pace. 

Those who complete the course will be eligible to receive four continuing education hours from the Oregon Landscape Contractors Board, and to join Clean Water Services’ list of Preferred Landscape Maintenance Contractors

To enroll in this course, first create an account on Clean Water Learning Online. To change the page’s language settings to Spanish, scroll down and click the image of a globe in the lower left corner. Then, purchase the course (The Nature of Green Infrastructure or La Naturaleza de la Infraestructura Verde). This will give you access to explore the latest standards and practices through a series of informative videos. Course content can be completed at your own pace. Landscape maintenance contractors who pass the final test with a score of at least 70%, are eligible for inclusion on Clean Water Services’ Preferred Contractor list.

Recently Published

Fireworks: Keep the Spectacle Out of Storm Drains 

We encourage people to have safe and joyous celebrations, but we also want to protect our slow and sensitive Tualatin River, which is a vital resource to our region. The Tualatin River provides drinking water, agricultural irrigation, and recreation. It’s also home to native wildlife like beavers, turtles, salmon, newts, egrets, and more. Keep these critters in mind when you clean up after using fireworks.  
Spent fireworks collect in a debris pile along the curb of a sidewalk.

Clean Water Services Board Adopts Fiscal Year 2026-27 Budget

Washington County, Oregon—The Clean Water Services (CWS) Board of Directors voted unanimously on June 9 to adopt the Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget and the rates and charges that fund sewer and stormwater services across the Tualatin River Watershed. The adopted budget and rates take effect July 1, 2026, the start of the fiscal year. 
Rock Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility
A large, multilevel vegetated water quality facility with native plants and brick retaining walls, with an adult walking and a child riding a bike on a sidewalk behind it, and trees behind them.