Welcome to Portland's Water Pollution Control Laboratory

6543 N Burlington Avenue
Portland, OR 97203
503-823-5600

A Community Focal Point

The City of Portland opened the 39-thousand square foot Water Pollution Control Laboratory in 1997, and the building is now a landmark in the St. Johns neighborhood. Its lines and colors complement the arches of the nearby St. Johns Bridge.

Lab staff and community groups use the building’s spacious, multipurpose conference rooms. The facility is a model for sustainable development. It conserves energy with self-dimming fluorescent lights, motion sensitive light switches, and windows that open. The swales, planters and water garden surrounding the building treat stormwater runoff from its roof and parking lot, and from 50 acres of nearby streets and neighborhoods.

Pedestrians can stroll past the Lab, and artist Don Merkt’s “Raindrop” sculpture, on a section of the Willamette Greenway Trail that connects the Lab grounds with neighboring Cathedral Park.

The Environmental Services Pollution Prevention Services Group works out of the Water Pollution Control Lab. The Pollution Prevention group:

• Investigates citizen complaints of spills and pollution in rivers and streams
• Provides surfacewater and infrastructure water quality testing and analysis
•  Is responsible for compliance with federal and state permits for wastewater collection and treatment, stormwater management, and groundwater protection
• Works with Portland industries to pretreat wastewater discharges before they enter the city’s sewer system and to manage stormwater onsite