Customer Service: 503-823-7770
GENERAL INFORMATION: 503-823-7404
Customer Alert: Please note that on the morning of Sunday May 17th, between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., customers will be unable to access our view/pay bill website or our 24-hour automated payment line due to system maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.
When food sits in the pantry too long – it can go stale and lose its flavor. The same is true with the water in your pipes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, water quality in large buildings that have little to no water use are especially at risk of Legionella bacteria growth in building plumbing. Legionella bacteria can cause a potentially life threatening pneumonia called Legionnaires’ Disease. Find the steps you need to take to protect health and maintain the water quality in buildings at the CDC’s Guidance for Building Water Systems page or the Water Bureau’s Water Quality in Large Buildings page. Email our water quality staff if you have questions.
Maintaining proper water quality is essential all the time, not just during emergencies.
Are you doing your part to maintain safe drinking water in your building? Take time to make sure your backflow preventors, swimming pools and hot tubs, and your building’s water management plan, and up to date.
Backflow prevention for single family homes
Does your home have a second water service specifically for your lawn and garden irrigation system? These irrigation systems have a backflow assembly to keep you, your family, and Portland’s drinking water safe. Backflow assemblies allow water to enter your irrigation system while at the same time preventing water that is in your irrigation system from flowing back into the drinking water supply. Once a year, homeowners are required to have the backflow assemblies connected to their system tested. Also, as the weather warms up, remember to keep your hose out of your pool or hot tub as you are filling them. Learn more at our Cross-connection & Backflow page.
Questions about your backflow assembly or backflow assembly testing? Contact Portland Water Bureau Backflow Records at 503-823-3256.
Maintaining water quality in your home
Just like household chores, maintaining water quality is a shared responsibility. The Portland Water Bureau preforms the majority of the work to ensure you receive safe and reliable drinking water, but customers have responsibilities to maintain water quality and pressure in their home. Find common maintenance and troubleshooting tips in our Customer Guide to Water Quality and Pressure.
This guide covers:
• The basics of water quality and pressure
• Troubleshooting common water quality and pressure concerns
• Plumbing and water heater maintenance tips
• Lead in home plumbing and how to reduce your exposure
• Water filters, backflow prevention, emergency water storage, and water efficiency tips
Questions about water quality or pressure?
Water Quality Line: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday–Friday. (Interpretation available.)
WBWaterLine@portlandoregon.gov
503-823-7525
Since 2017, the Portland Water Bureau has detected low levels of Cryptosporidium from routine monitoring.
The Portland Water Bureau received results from ongoing monitoring from the Bull Run Watershed intake for Cryptosporidium, a potentially disease-causing microorganism. Two Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected in the 50-liters collected on Tuesday April 28. Prior to this detection, Cryptosporidium was last detected from the Bull Run Watershed intake on March 31, 2020, when one oocyst was detected from the 50-liters sampled.
The Bull Run Watershed is Portland’s primary source of drinking water. The Portland Water Bureau does not currently treat for Cryptosporidium, but is required to do so under drinking water regulations. Portland is working to install filtration by September 2027 under a compliance schedule with Oregon Health Authority. In the meantime, Portland Water Bureau is implementing interim measures such as watershed protection and additional monitoring to protect public health. Consultation with public health officials has concluded that at this time, customers do not need to take any additional precautions.
About Cryptosporidium
Exposure to Cryptosporidium can cause cryptosporidiosis, a serious illness. Symptoms can include diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach pain. People with healthy immune systems recover without medical treatment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people with severely weakened immune systems are at risk for more serious disease. Symptoms may be more severe and could lead to serious or life-threatening illness. Examples of people with weakened immune systems include those with AIDS; those with inherited diseases that affect the immune system; and cancer and transplant patients who are taking certain immunosuppressive drugs.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that a small percentage of the population could experience gastro-intestinal illness from Cryptosporidium and advises that customers who are immunocompromised and receive their drinking water from the Bull Run Watershed consult with their healthcare professional about the safety of drinking the tap water. The Portland Water Bureau and Burlington, City of Gresham, City of Sandy, City of Tualatin, Green Valley, GNR, Hideaway Hills, Lake Grove, Lorna Domestic Water, Lusted, Palatine Hill, Pleasant Home, Raleigh, Rockwood, Skyview Acres, Tualatin Valley, Two Rivers, Valley View and West Slope Water Districts receive all or part of their drinking water supply from the Bull Run. To learn if your drinking water comes from Bull Run, please contact your local drinking water provider.
More Information
The public and the media are encouraged to view all sampling results posted to the City’s website at portlandoregon.gov/water/cryptoresults. The bureau will notify the media and public immediately should further test results indicate a risk to public health and precautions are necessary.
Customers with questions regarding water quality can call the Water Line at 503-823-7525.
The public is invited to attend the upcoming Portland Water Bureau and Mt. Hood National Forest Bull Run working group meeting:
Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual. To request a link to the meeting, contact Kate Leatherbarrow at kate.leatherbarrow@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-5351 by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2020.
Agenda: Access the agenda here
Accommodation, Interpretation, and Translation
To help ensure equal access to City programs, services and activities, the City of Portland will provide translation, reasonably modify policies/procedures and provide auxiliary aids/services/alternative formats to persons with disabilities.
Given the unique circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 situation, the bureau thanks you for your patience and flexibility as we balance our commitment to public meeting requirements with the logistics and tools available. Should you have a request for special accommodation for the Bull Run Working Group meeting, please contact Kate Leatherbarrow at kate.leatherbarrow@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-5351 at least one week prior to the meeting (by Tuesday, May 12, 2020) in order to coordinate your request.
Under the terms of a 20-year agreement between the Portland Water Bureau and Mt. Hood National Forest, staff engaged in the management of the Bull Run Watershed, Portland’s primary drinking water source, will meet semi-annually each year. The purpose of these meetings is to review work plans, budgets, and staff assignments; and communicate accomplishments and issues addressed during the course of management activities. An annual report is presented at the spring meetings.
For more information about the 20-year stewardship agreement between the Portland Water Bureau and the Mt. Hood National Forest, please visit the Bull Run Watershed Protection and Stewardship page or the Forest Service's Mt. Hood National Forest page.
Customer Alert: There will be two scheduled maintenance windows where customers will be unable to access our view/pay bill website and our automated phone payment. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes.