In this issue

• Hello from the City
• Resources and Engagement Opportunities
• News
• Events
• Your Portland Moment

The Portland Water Bureau maintains the city’s water system, which delivers an average of 95 million gallons of water to nearly one million people, every day of the year. But like any human activity, the system is also responsible for greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming – about 8,000 tons of CO2 equivalent last year. We caught up with climate analyst Elise Guinee-Cooper, one of 600 employees at the Water Bureau who take care of the critical infrastructure and natural resources that deliver water from the forest to your faucet. She’s leading the charge to make our water supply greener – and bluer. 

What does a climate analyst do? I was hired to help the Water Bureau develop their first Net Zero strategy. The Water Bureau has been working on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions for a long time, so this work isn't new. But having a strategy on how we're going to get to zero by the year 2050 – that is the new part. 

What is Net Zero? Net Zero basically means that all the greenhouse gas emissions that we are putting into the atmosphere are balanced with all the ones that are being sucked out of the atmosphere – mostly by plants. So as long as what's going out and what's coming in is equal, then we're in balance; climate change is not accelerating. But if we keep putting more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere faster than the natural world can reabsorb them, that's where we're getting into trouble.

How can the water bureau help with that? We use a lot of electricity to pump water. Most of our system is fed by gravity, but sometimes we have to pump it uphill. And occasionally we have to pump groundwater when we don't have enough water from Bull Run during the summer or when other events prevent Bull Run water from being used. We also have buildings and trucks and the new filtration plant we’re building. So we’re constantly looking for ways to reduce electricity consumption. And reduce leaks. We lose about 15% of our water due to leaks and we estimate that that accounts for about 8% of our total emissions. 

Wait, water leaks contribute to global warming? We treat our water for public health, and that takes electricity. And if we have to pump that water anywhere, that takes electricity. So not only is the water being wasted, but all the energy that it consumed is also wasted. Not to mention the damage that a leak can cause

All that water... can’t you use it to generate electricity? Yes! We’ve got two dams at the Bull Run reservoir that have been generating hydroelectric power since 1981. They generate about 82,000 megawatt hours a year, which is enough for about 10,000 homes. We also have a micro-hydro turbine at Sabin Hydropark and we're building another at Washington Park.

Read the full interview with Elise.

Celebrate Earth Month this April by walking, biking, and rolling to school! 

Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22, but we can celebrate our planet all month long by walking, biking, and rolling to school! Find activities and ideas to spread the word from Safe Routes to School.

Support legacy business 

Longstanding. Independent. Locally owned. Deeply rooted. Local businesses play a vital role in the identity and economy of Portland and its neighborhoods, but often face capacity challenges and are vulnerable to displacement. Tell us how the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability could help support these irreplaceable institutions. 

Sign up for updates.

Community Board for Police Accountability is accepting applications   

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.  

Apply by April 14. 

Help your neighbors in an emergency 

In the event of a citywide emergency such as a severe flood or major earthquake, volunteer neighborhood rescuers will likely be first on-the-scene when firefighters and police are slowed by impassable streets or overwhelmed by calls for help. Volunteer on a Neighborhood Emergency Team. 

Sign up now.

Job opportunity: Chief Equity Officer 

The Chief Equity Officer will play a pivotal role in aligning efforts, standards, and strategies across the City’s evolving organizational structure. Key responsibilities include setting equity standards, overseeing accountability measures, supporting compliance, and building organizational capacity across bureaus.  

Apply by March 31.

Retail theft investigation turns up a trove of stolen goods 

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