Clean Water Services cleans 66 million gallons of wastewater each day, on average, for over 600,000 customers in urban Washington County. The wastewater is collected by a vast network of more than 1,900 miles of sewer pipes and 44 pump stations and routed to one of our four water resource recovery facilities—Durham, Rock Creek, Hillsboro, and Forest Grove. The cleaned water is returned to the Tualatin River to be reused. We also have a Field Operations Office and Administrative Building Complex to best serve our communities. Want to learn more? Schedule a tour at one of our treatment facilities.
Durham Water Resource Recovery Facility
The Durham Facility, located at 16060 SW 85th Avenue, Tigard, is an award-winning, state-of-the-art facility, serving Washington County residents in Beaverton, Durham, King City, Sherwood, Tigard, Tualatin, and small portions of southwest Portland and Lake Oswego. The facility cleans 26 million gallons of wastewater on an average day to some of the highest safety and quality standards in the nation.
Hillsboro Water Resource Recovery Facility
The Hillsboro facility, located at 770 S. First Avenue in Hillsboro, provides wastewater treatment for the cities of North Plains, Banks, the western region of Hillsboro, the southeastern portion of Cornelius, and the northwestern portion of Forest Grove. The facility cleans approximately 4 million gallons of wastewater on an average day.
Rock Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility
The Rock Creek facility, located at 3235 SE River Road in Hillsboro, provides wastewater treatment for the City of Hillsboro, portions of Beaverton, Aloha, and unincorporated areas in Washington County. The facility cleans 39 million gallons of wastewater on an average day, releasing water so clean it improves Tualatin River water quality.
Forest Grove Water Resource Recovery Facility
The Forest Grove facility, located at 1345 Fern Hill Road in Forest Grove, provides wastewater treatment for Forest Grove, Gaston, and Cornelius. The facility currently cleans approximately 4.5 million gallons of wastewater on an average day.
Fernhill
Fernhill, located next to the Forest Grove facility, is part of more than 700 acres in Forest Grove owned by Clean Water Services for water resources management. Fernhill utilizes natural treatment systems, or wetlands, to improve water quality by removing nutrients, cooling, and naturalizing the water after conventional treatment. Fernhill is designated an Important Bird Area and is also home to beavers, frogs, coyote, and other wildlife.
ripl
Clean Water Services ripl (Research+Innovation+Partners+Labs) currently houses its molecular biology laboratory, Field Operations construction staff and storage for Building and Facilities Services. A full building renovation is underway to build laboratories; and create research, office, and meeting space to support the development of innovative treatment technologies. Work is expected to begin in 2024 and should be completed by 2026.
Administration Building Complex (ABC)
Our Administration Building Complex at 2550 Southwest Hillsboro Highway is located adjacent to the Tualatin River and Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve. The complex was built onto our existing water quality laboratory in 2003 and consolidated staff from four facilities into a single, central water resources campus totaling 69,000 square feet.
The ABC earned LEED GOLD certification in 2005, the first LEED Gold certified public building in Washington County. Using low-flow fixtures and the harvesting of rainwater to flush toilets, water usage is estimated to be 66 percent less than a comparable code building. The use of occupancy sensors, high-efficiency lighting, and an underfloor heating and cooling systems save an estimated 45 percent on energy costs. More than 60 percent of building materials were manufactured within 500 miles, supporting the local economy, and reducing transportation costs. Natural ventilation, interior light shelves, and the building’s orientation on the site deliver fresh air and high-quality natural light throughout the building.
The complex includes Clean Water Services’ water quality lab, administration, environmental services, information systems, inspection, engineering, public affairs, human resources, and planning groups. The 2003 expansion allowed CWS to restore a degraded site, construct a building that publicly demonstrates our environmental stewardship, and locate us adjacent to the river we serve.
Field Operations
Our Field Operations location at 2025 SW Merlo Court in Beaverton opened in 2003. Special design features and careful construction methods were used to protect local streams and the nearby THPRD Nature Park. The facility is a showcase for low-impact development, balancing environmental protection and community building.
Natural land and native vegetation absorb rainfall, but buildings and pavement can create unnatural runoff that increases water pollution, temperature, and erosion. To solve these problems, thoughtful design can mimic nature to create pavement and buildings that absorb water. The facility and parking lots were designed to manage surface water onsite. Instead of drainage pipes and catch basins that would carry water away, plantings and porous “softscaping” allow rain to soak into the ground and filter through plants. Runoff is reduced and slowed while water quality flowing to the creeks is improved.
Innovations include:
- Ecoroof – Soil and plants on the roof absorb rainfall and insulate the building.
- Porous Pavement – Allows rain to soak into the ground and stay cool.
- Green Street – Gently sloped swales replace curbs and gutters to slow water and remove pollutants.
Tualatin River Farm
Tualatin River Farm, located at 4490 SW Minter Bridge Road in Hillsboro, provides some of the million plus native plants installed each year by Clean Water Services and our Tree for All partners. It also functions as a working farm, a nursery, and a demonstration site for innovative restoration techniques. Learn more about Tualatin River Farm from the Tree for All case study. To schedule a visit for the Tualatin River Farm, please email TRF@cleanwaterservices.org.