Clean Water Services has spent more than five decades serving the community and local environment. It may be hard to imagine now, but 55 years ago the Tualatin River was at times a mere trickle, slinking its way through garbage and waste throughout Washington County. The river was unrecognizable compared to the beautiful resource it is today. Ominous “DO NOT SWIM HERE” signs warned people approaching local waterways. In 1969, the state imposed a moratorium on suburban building in Washington County due to the pollution. 

What is now Clean Water Services was created to respond to this public health crisis. On February 3, 1970, Washington County voters approved the formation of the Unified Sewerage Agency (USA) to consolidate 26 wastewater treatment facilities (most of them built by residential developers) into one utility. Over the next few years, ground broke for the Rock Creek and Durham Water Resource Recovery Facilities. The Forest Grove and Hillsboro facilities underwent modifications to meet the needs of the community and the river. The facilities centralized a scattered system of inefficient wastewater treatment plants, creating what would eventually be one of the most efficient and advanced utilities in the world.

Over time, the Unified Sewerage Agency evolved into a wastewater treatment regional utility that recovers valuable resources, helps slow down and clean stormwater, and returns water to the river while protecting the environment and public health. The Unified Sewerage Agency was renamed Clean Water Services in 2001 to reflect its broader role in protecting water resources following its formation.

In 2004, Clean Water Services received a first-of-its-kind, watershed-based, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Issued under the federal Clean Water Act, this watershed-based NPDES permit combines the permits for its four water resource recovery facilities and the municipal stormwater system into a single integrated permit that can be managed across facilities and the Tualatin River Watershed. This kind of permit remains a rarity, and none of the watershed-based permits that exist today are as complex as the one regulating the Tualatin River Watershed. The Environmental Protection Agency even uses this permit as a case study. NPDES permits are renewed every five years to ensure they keep up with the needs of the nation’s waterways and growing population, while adapting to a rapidly changing climate.

Fifty-five years after the community voted us into existence, the Tualatin River is cleaner than it has been in generations, and is a vital resource for habitat, irrigation, drinking water, and recreation. Clean Water Services is dedicated to working in partnership with others to safeguard the river’s health and vitality, ensure the economic success of the region, and protect public health for over 600,000 residents and businesses in urban Washington County. Learn more about our history here.