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One of the many whys behind filtration
When it pours rain, like it has this past month, organic materials wash into the streams and reservoirs in our watershed, and we see higher levels of turbidity in the Bull Run water supply. With an unfiltered supply, that can mean we aren’t able to safely serve the water. When that happens, we switch over to using 100 percent groundwater from our Columbia South Shore Well Field like we did in December. Having two water sources is one of the ways the Water Bureau maintains reliability. The new water filtration facility we’re building is another way we’re investing in a more resilient water future.
Filtration will give us a powerful tool to improve the safety and reliability of our drinking water. Once the new facility is up and running, our upgraded multi-step treatment process will help address turbidity from storm events, fires, or landslides. |
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The new filtration facility will also treat for Cryptosporidium, help us address emerging climate-related risks, and even remove the organic material from our water that can sometimes result in a slight tea-like tint in the fall season. Read more about the benefits of filtration.
 Filtration construction update
We’re ringing in the new year with lots of great progress on construction. At the facility site, our contractors have now clocked more than half a million labor hours with representation from various trades. Crews have also poured more than 8,300 cubic yards of concrete, which is a major part of this type of construction. It forms building foundations, underground vaults and pipe encasements, and the basins and channels where drinking water is filtered and disinfected. The concrete has to be mixed, poured, and cured correctly to make sure it supports the treatment process as designed.
In addition, our pipeline crews have now installed more than 6,400 total feet of new water pipeline. In December, workers finished laying the stretch of new pipe in our easement between Lusted Road and Dodge Park Boulevard—that’s one of the last segments of 66-inch-diameter pipe. In 2026, they’ll be back to install vaults and other features needed to support future operations and maintenance.
Just east of the facility site, tunneling crews have been hard at work excavating the twin tunnels where two new pipelines will bring unfiltered water up the hill from our water conduits along Lusted Road to the filtration facility site. Meet the crew in this short video.
As we head into the new year, a second tunneling crew will begin work on the pipeline connection on the north side of the facility site. They'll be tunneling under Carpenter Lane to connect between the clearwell storage at the facility site and the new water pipeline already installed under Dodge Park Boulevard.
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Bull Run Filtration: Neighbor update meeting
The Water Bureau will host an online community meeting to update neighbors on progress and upcoming construction work for the Bull Run Filtration projects.
Date: Thursday, January 8, 2026
Time: 6 p.m.
Where: Zoom (register here)
After registering, you'll receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The meeting video and materials will also be posted to the project webpage after the meeting.
Can't make it this time? Join us at the next Coffee with the Contractor event February 12, 2026.
Stay up to date on the latest construction activity:
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About the Bull Run Treatment Projects
To comply with federal Safe Drinking Water Act regulations, the Portland Water Bureau is planning a water filtration facility and related pipelines, and recently completed an improved corrosion control treatment facility. The Bull Run Treatment Projects will provide consistent, high-quality drinking water that meets today’s water quality standards, helps address aging infrastructure concerns and future risks and regulations, and improves system resilience to help keep our water safe and abundant for generations to come.
Learn more at portland.gov/BullRunProjects
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Know someone who would be interested in updates about the Bull Run Treatment Projects?
Please share the news!
The City of Portland is committed to providing meaningful access. To request translation, interpretation, modifications, accommodations, or other auxiliary aids or services, contact 503-823-7432, Relay: 711.
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: 503-823-7432, Relay: 711
This email was sent from an unmonitored inbox. Please do not reply. Instead, contact us at bullrunprojects@portlandoregon.gov.
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