Portland Water Bureau

Yesterday Public Works Deputy City Administrator Priya Dhanapal and Chief Procurement Officer Sylvester Donelson hosted a successful City of Portland Public Works Procurement Day. The event brought together contractors, City staff, and community partners to explore procurement processes and upcoming contracting opportunities in infrastructure projects across the City's three Public Works bureaus—Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland Bureau of Transportation, and Portland Water Bureau. As the City’s Public Works Service Area oversees billions of dollars in infrastructure investments, it is essential that we manage these resources effectively to improve the quality of life for Portlanders. Equally important is ensuring that all businesses—particularly small, emerging, and minority-owned contractors—are equipped and empowered to compete for these opportunities and contribute to Portland's growth and success. In line with the City's commitment to COBID contracting goals, this event provided valuable opportunities for networking, education, and access to resources, empowering these diverse businesses to successfully engage in the City's procurement process. A big thank you to all attendees, partners, and contractors for your engagement and support! For ongoing open bid opportunities, visit: procure.portlandoregon.gov. And for upcoming procurement opportunities, visit: https://lnkd.in/gW-tabmu.

We’re looking for two water meter readers to join our Customer Service team! As a water meter reader, you’ll:? - Read water meters for residential, commercial, and industrial customers? - Calculate usage and analyzes past usage history? - Respond?to?inquiries?from?the public?as?a?representative?of?the City Application deadline is November 12. To learn more about the position, visit: bit.ly/WorkforWater

At Portland Water, we’re more than stewards for our water. We’re dedicated to climate action.? Learn how we’re working to rapidly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at: portland.gov/water/climate.?

Just spent a great week in Miami with colleagues from the 12 water utilities who are part of the national Water Utility Climate Alliance, and partners from the US Water Alliance and Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA). We exchanged and discussed leading practices on 1) how the water sector is preparing for climate financial, bond and insurance risks 2) a framework to advance equity through climate action in the water sector 3) how to redesign infrastructure for future climate conditions and 4) how to integrate new climate models into water supply planning. Key takeaways: Our large water utilities are on top of these issues, even though there's more to do. We also need to get the message out to smaller communities and water utilities who don't have the same resources as us. So WUCA will be sharing more tools and information on how to address the above issues in the very near future on our website soon! https://www.wucaonline.org Alan Cohn, Julia Rockwell, Alexandra King, MUP, MPH, Jessica Evans, Keely Brooks, MSc, ENV SP, Tirusew Asefa, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, F.ASCE,Marc Cammarata and more!

Learn more about what’s coming to Washington Park Reservoir: https://lnkd.in/gidis4CB

On the radio! I'm so thrilled to be featured on NPR/OPB talking about Portland Water Bureau's efforts to protect our drinking water from risk of wildfire. The article undersells the long-standing protections that are already in place including our robust secondary water source, but well captures the balance between new wildfire risks our region faces with climate change, the crucial role of watershed protection, and the increased protection that new treatment will provide. Proud of the Bull Run Filtration Pilot team who "were able to demonstrate that filtration does meet our promise of providing additional resilience against wildfires." Listen to the radio spot or read the writeup at https://lnkd.in/gctb42jA

Things are looking great at Washington Park Reservoir! The new 12.4-million-gallon reservoir is engineered with modern technology and building standards to withstand seismic activity, while keeping the historic look and feel of the original structure. Construction to build a reflecting pool on top of the underground reservoir is happening now and expected to be completed in 2025.?We're also installing a lowland wildlife habitat area and bioswale! Stay on top of Washington Park Reservoir updates at: https://lnkd.in/grj67JQR

Water Treatment Engineer Mac Gifford paid a visit to Oregon State University to talk about his team's work to prepare for our new filtration facility. Set to be completed in 2027, the Bull Run Filtration Facility will allow us to serve Bull Run water after a large, storm, landslide, or fire. Check out this video as Mac explains how he and his team mixed more than 1,300 pounds of wildfire ash with water before running it through filtration: https://lnkd.in/gQ7kqxJ6

Thanks American Water Works Association for the feature! Read the article to learn how our H2O parody of Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" came to be and the importance of connecting with new audiences as a water utility.

The New York Times toured the Bull Run Watershed to visit the recent Camp Creek fire burn while also learning about climate change impacts and hydropower production. The watershed not only acts as Portland’s primary water source; it also houses two powerhouses that can provide enough ongoing power for about 10,000 homes.??? ? A changing climate requires us to adapt our water supply system and hydropower generation. That’s why for over 25 years, we’ve been studying climate resilience and making critical investments to address risks from wildfires, flooding, and other extreme weather events.?? ? Learn how we’re planning for a changing climate, so we can provide water that's safe and abundant for years to come at: portland.gov/water/climate?? ? (And just in case you're wondering, our groundwater use has no impact on Columbia River hydropower production.)? Read the full New York Times at: lnkd.in/gyEGdp85