Public Health - Clean Water Services

Septic or Sewer? Keeping the Watershed Free of Sewage

When you flush your toilet, everything in the bowl should (hopefully) be sent away from your bathroom and your home. For many people in Washington County, those contents head to a water resource recovery facility operated by Clean Water Services. For others, it is held in a septic tank.

Public Works: Connecting Communities Worldwide

How often do you consider where water (and everything you flush along with it) goes after you “go,” or where it flows when it falls as rain, melts as snow, or runs down your driveway from a hose?

Workers fill a trench in the street where pipe work was completed. A piece of heavy machinery, houses, and cars are in the background.

Practical, Proactive, People-Centered: Our Blessedly Boring Budget

Drama and excitement can be fun, but not when it comes to budget and rates planning. You want to know the folks tasked with tackling our region’s long-term water challenges are being as clear-eyed and careful with your hard-earned rate dollars as they are when protecting public health and the environment.

An Aerial view of Butternut Creek, a tributary to the Tualatin River, with heavy vegetation along the banks of the creek and houses backing up to the water.

Wapato Lake: A Wetland Restored, and Now a Refuge

Years of Working in Partnership Pays Off at Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Wapato Lake, viewed from above, showing vibrant colors of green and blues

We’re Preparing for Emergencies and So Should You

Local utilities like Clean Water Services and public agencies are also working together to plan for natural hazards, under the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

A Clean Water Services Employee Smiles from within a man hole.

Rain to Drain to River

Your actions, no matter how small, can impact the life cycle of the salmon, and the overall health of the watershed.

Give Thanks for Your Toilet

Have you thought about what it would be like to live without toilets? According to the WHO and CDC, about 3.6 billion people don’t have access to safely managed sanitation in their home. Inadequate sanitation systems spread human waste into rivers, lakes, and soil — contaminating the water resources under our feet.