On Thursday August 18, Environmental Services staff led members of the Public Utility Review Board, Citizens’ Utility Board of Oregon, and City Budget Office on a tour of sewer and stormwater improvement projects.

The Public Utility Review Board’s mission is to provide equitable, reasonable and balanced representation of the community when advising the Mayor and the City Council on water, sewer, stormwater and solid waste financial plans and rates. The Citizens’ Utility Board of Oregon is a nonprofit organization. Its mission is to represent the interests of Oregon’s residential utility customers before administrative, judicial and legislative bodies.

First stop on the tour was a sump retrofit project site in outer southeast Portland. Sumps, also known as underground injection controls (UICs), are perforated pipes installed vertically underground. They collect stormwater runoff from streets and allow the water to soak into the ground. Environmental Services is connecting several existing sumps to sedimentation manholes that remove sediment and debris from stormwater before the cleaner water flows into the sumps. The project will protect groundwater and help Portland comply with its federally-regulated UIC permit.

Barb Adkins and Tracy Rauscher of BES explain the UIC Program

Next, the group visited the Foster Floodplain Natural Area. The 63-acre natural area reduces the risk of Johnson Creek flooding, improves water quality and enhances fish habitat in the creek.

Marie Walkiewicz of the BES Johnson Creek Watershed Program led a tour of the Foster Floodplain Natural Area.

Finally, the group toured project sites in the Tabor to the River program area. The tour included several green street facilities, pipe rehabilitation projects, and examples of projects included in the Private Property Retrofit Program and the Green Street Stewards Program.