Water Resources - Clean Water Services

Public Works: Rooted in Service, Powered by Community

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? You may not think about it much, because the public works staff who maintain miles of pipe, operate treatment facilities, monitor water quality, and respond to threats to public health and the environment are working to keep those essential services flowing 24 hours a day for you.

An image of two Clean Water Services at a construction site in the community.

Water Releases Make Tualatin River a Year-Round Resource

The arrival of warm and dry weather and a hot forecast ahead prompted Clean Water Services (CWS) to begin releasing cool water on May 12, 2026. The Tualatin River is a vital source of water for Washington County communities, crops, and companies. To keep the Tualatin River flowing and healthy in dry months, CWS releases cool water from Hagg Lake and Barney Reservoir

An aerial view of where water is released from Scoggins Dam. Part of Hagg Lake is visible on the left, with trees and hills in the background.

Shower Our Watershed With Love

There are plenty of ways you can show your love for the river, to help keep this symbiotic relationship healthy and strong.

An image to two people standing in front of the Tualatin River.

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 1.5 billion people don’t have access to safely managed sanitation in their home, and another 3.4 billion people don’t have access to safely managed sanitation anywhere — even outside of their home. Inadequate sanitation systems spread human waste into rivers, lakes, and soil — contaminating the water resources under our feet.

A white toilet against a blue tile wall.

Diving into a New Water Year

While a calendar year ends a couple of months into the wet season, a water year follows the flow of the season.

Who’s Been Here? Using eDNA to Understand and Defend our Watershed

There are many different ways the watershed talks to us, if you know how to listen. At Clean Water Services (CWS), we are always working to understand the needs of the Tualatin River Watershed. One way we learn from the environment is asking “who or what has been here?” Since we can’t knock on the door of a beaver dam or ring a trout’s doorbell, CWS is using a new technique to translate the language of the watershed.