Budgets and Financial Planning 

Clean Water Services goes through a budget process from October to June each year to help guide the community’s investments in water resources management and establish sewer and stormwater billing rates for the following fiscal year.  

The annual proposed CWS budget is developed by staff in collaboration with executive leadership and is typically available for public review by late April. In May, the CWS Budget Committee, which includes members of the Board of Directors and five community representatives, reviews the budget and amends or approves it as presented. The Board holds a public hearing in June and may revise the budget based on those comments. After the public hearing, the Board adopts the budget. The adopted budget goes into effect on July 1, the start of the fiscal year.  Sign up for our Public Meetings e-newsletter for important meeting dates delivered right to your inbox. 

Planning for the Future 

Clean Water Services maintains long-term financial and capital planning tools, including a five-year Capital Improvement Plan, to ensure we can invest in essential infrastructure and adapt to the needs of a growing and changing region. 

Following the 2008 financial crisis, the CWS Board adopted fiscal policies requiring the agency to maintain strong reserves while keeping rate increases modest and predictable. As a result, CWS has consistently earned top-tier credit ratings, allowing us to borrow at lower costs and save ratepayers money. 

CWS uses a cost of service study to ensure rate decisions are informed by operations data, including the cost of providing service to different communities.  

For more about the process of setting annual billing rates, see Billing Rates

To see a breakdown of your bill and an overview of the services your rates pay for, see Understanding Your Bill.

Financial Planning 

• Five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) 
• Department & Program Roadmaps 

CWS Budgets 

• Fiscal Year 2025-26 Budget 
  • FY 2025-26 Adopted Rates and Charges (PDF) 
  • FY 2025-26 Adopted Budget (PDF) 
  • Guide to the Budget (PDF) 
  • CWS Budget Committee Q&A (PDF) 
• Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget 
  • FY 2024-25 Adopted Rates and Charges (PDF) 
  • FY 2024-25 Adopted Budget (PDF) 
• Fiscal Year 2023-24 Budget 
  • FY 2023-24 Adopted Budget (PDF) 
  • FY 2023-24 Adopted Rates and Charges (PDF) 

How does Clean Water Services reduce long-term costs? 

CWS is focused on delivering value to our ratepayers by making smart capital investments, building workforce capacity, improving efficiency, and collaborating with peer organizations across our region and throughout the world to deploy and share best practices for effective, efficient wastewater services.  

Energy Efficiency. CWS energy investments pay big dividends, not only for the environment but also for the bottom line. We have saved at least $300,000 per year from energy reduction projects since 2009. Some of these efforts include: 

• Building a large solar energy facility that will save $400,000 in energy costs during its lifetime. This project follows two other solar projects that will also lead to savings. 
• Measuring and tracking energy use and implementing an energy savings plan as an official Energy Star Partner — a program coordinated by the Environmental Protection Agency. 
• Improving operating efficiency at our four water resource recovery  facilities — part of the Energy Trust’s Energy Improvement Program. 
• Our Rock Creek and Durham facilities produce 25-50% of their annual energy demand through cogeneration and solar power generation. 

Nutrient Recovery. We recover valuable nutrients through the treatment process that can be reused, generating revenue and preserving system capacity. 

• To meet the low phosphorus limit for the Tualatin River, our Rock Creek and Durham facilities use a proprietary technology to remove phosphorus and ammonia from wastewater and convert them into an environmentally friendly commercial fertilizer product called Crystal Green®, which we sell to nursery and agricultural industry and use as a key component in Clean Water Grow®, our retail fertilizer.  
• Together, our four water resource recovery facilities recycle more than 32 dry tons of safe, nutrient-rich organic material from the more than 65 million gallons of wastewater we clean on average each day. This recycling process results in the production of biosolids for use at local farms and rangeland in Eastern Oregon and the Willamette Valley as a soil amendment. 

Smart Water. CWS uses sensors and controls to provide optimal services to our region. A system called SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) allows operators to monitor and control wastewater treatment remotely, improving efficiency and reducing costs. This helps control water quality by providing real-time data, empowering operators to make quick decisions when there are unexpected changes or malfunctions, ensuring consistent quality and compliance with regulations. 

Stay informed about public meetings by signing up for the CWS Public Meeting e-newsletter. Receive important updates, meeting dates and times, and agendas right in your inbox.