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BLOOMING AWESOME. Be on the lookout for the exuberant cherry blossoms that bejewel our city each spring, such as this blush of pink profusion along the Willamette River in Waterfront Park. (Photo from 2022)
In this issue
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Flushed with Pride
Engineer Christa Overby makes sure Portland’s immense wastewater treatment system keeps working around the clock.
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Out of sight, out of mind – that's the way many of us feel about flushing the toilet. But the City’s wastewater system doesn’t happen by magic. It takes the work and sweat and dedication of hundreds of Bureau of Environmental Services workers like Christa Overby. She oversees maintenance for the pumps and treatment plants that are the heart of a system that handles as much as 450 million gallons a day. We caught up with her at the Columbia Boulevard treatment plant, which is the biggest in the state.
What does your workday look like? I manage the maintenance for our treatment plants and pump stations. That’s about 78 people. We do maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair work at our two treatment plants and for the 98 pump stations located across the city. We’ve got pumps and shafts and gates and clarifiers and all kinds of assets. Altogether there’s about 20,000 items in our system. Mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, automation, you name it. We have a lot of infrastructure. Our goal is to keep it operating and maintained properly to maximize its lifespan and meet our permit requirements.
Wait, we have pumps for our poop? Yes. Sewage is 99% water. Our system is based on gravity flow. When you flush the toilet, gravity pulls the flow through the pipes to a low point. But then we need to get it to the plant for treatment. So we use pumps to push it through pipes to the plant. Some of those pumps are pretty big. The Swan Island CSO Pump Station is so big the Portland Building could fit inside it.
What happens to the wastewater when it gets to the plant? First it goes through our headworks where we screen out debris and other junk – you know, people still flush down wipes, even though we ask them not to. Then we use a biological treatment process known as activated sludge. Microorganisms break down the organic waste. It goes on to further treatment including chemical disinfection and is sent out into the Columbia River. The biosolids settle out and are treated in our digesters and eventually hauled away to Eastern Oregon for land application – fertilizing crops.
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Resources and engagement opportunities |
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The Planning Commission is seeking five community members who are enthusiastic about long-range planning issues and urban solutions.
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We're recruiting applications for the Community Advisory Committee of the Transportation System Plan, which will guide transportation projects in Portland through the year 2045.
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Help us strategize how to restore the physical fabric of the Albina neighborhood and support Portland’s Black community. Use the Pin It mapping tool to pinpoint places you love, challenges you see, and ideas for the future. Don’t wait—add your comments today!
Pin it by March 31.
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Serve on the Community Board for Police Accountability, a new independent governing body established to make recommendations about Portland Police Bureau practices, policies and directives, with a focus on community concerns.
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PDX 311 has your back! Whether it's figuring out trash day, reporting a fallen tree, or handling a parking ticket, Tiffany and the team at PDX 311 are here to help. Call 3-1-1 or email 311@portlandoregon.gov. We take calls 7 a.m.-8 p.m., seven days a week.
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Budget Listening Sessions
Come and make your voice heard.
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District 1: Thursday, March 20, 6–8:30 p.m., Parkrose High School
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District 2: Thursday, April 3, 6–8:30 p.m., Portland Community College Cascade Moriarty Auditorium
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District 3: Tuesday, March 18. (This meeting is past, but you can still submit comments.)
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District 4: Tuesday, April 1, 6–8:30 p.m., Portland Building
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Make the city greener
Do you have an idea for a project to help the city confront climate change, benefit frontline communities, and advance social justice? Apply for a community grant from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund.
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Get involved. Come to a public meeting.
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Wash House laundry workers Annette Collins, Andrew Nelson and Terrance Freeman help homeless Portlanders get back on their feet.
Keeping clothes and bedding clean is a real hassle when you’re living unsheltered. This new laundry service improves health and hygiene, reduces waste, and helps people get back on their feet.
The recent move to expand Portland Street Response is an important step toward ending unsheltered homelessness, writes Portland Mayor Keith Wilson.
The M Carter Commons will bring 62 affordable homes for seniors to the Overlook neighborhood, thanks to Northwest Housing Alternatives and the Urban League of Portland. Some 51 units will be subject to the N/NE Preference Policy, which prioritizes applicants who have been impacted by urban renewal in North and Northeast Portland. The project is set to open in Spring 2026.
Portland Fire and Rescue is looking for an experienced leader to shape the future of the bureau, which has 800 employees and a $181 million budget.
The Digital Services team is working on ways to improve the City’s website. Top priorities include streamlining permits, getting feedback from users, and making the website more accessible to people of all abilities.
Celebrate the joy of walking, biking, rolling, and playing on car-free streets. The Portland Bureau of Transportation has teamed up with Kaiser Permanente to put on this year’s Sunday Parkways events, which transform our streets into vibrant community spaces.
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Beadwork is a rich indigenous artform. And it's fun for the whole family. Join Kay on March 22 at Director Park and learn more about the cultural heritage of her traditional beadwork.
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Request an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for any City of Portland program, service, event, or activity. To ensure the best response, please make your request at least five business days before the program or event, if possible. |
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Volunteer events
Admission pricing
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Your Portland moment
Photo by Diego Diaz
Celebrate the Arts Access Fund
For more than a decade, Portlanders have supported the Arts Access Fund, which provides arts education in Portland’s schools through the Arts Tax.
Before the Arts Access Fund, there were 31 full-time arts teachers and educators serving students across Portland’s six school districts. Last year, there were 111 full-time arts teachers and educators. That's a 358% increase -- thanks to the Arts Access Fund.
Exhibit runs March 13 -- April 30.
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Traducción e Interpretación | Biên Dịch và Thông Dịch | अनुवादन तथा व्याख्या
口笔译服务 | Устный и письменный перевод | Turjumaad iyo Fasiraad
Письмовий і усний переклад | Traducere și interpretariat | Chiaku me
Awewen Kapas
Translation and Interpretation: 3-1-1
The City of Portland ensures meaningful access and reasonably provides: translation, interpretation, modifications, accommodations, alternative formats, auxiliary aids and services. To request these services, call 311 for Relay Service or TTY: 711.
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