Discolored water? Filtration will help with that

As fall rains return and refill the Bull Run reservoirs, some Portlanders are seeing a slight color change in their drinking water. This is a normal occurrence and doesn't affect the safety of our drinking water. Heavy rains wash organic material like leaves into the streams and reservoirs in the Bull Run Watershed. This can cause a slight tea-like tint in tap water and stain water filters in homes and businesses.

One of the many whys behind filtration

Avoiding seasonal discoloration in our drinking water is just one of filtration's many benefits. By building a new, seismically resilient filtration facility, we are making an important investment in improved water quality. The new Bull Run filtration facility will help us treat for Cryptosporidium, storm-related turbidity, emerging climate-related risks, and, yes, the organic material that causes discolored water.

"Filtration will give us a powerful tool for addressing current and emerging risks to our drinking water system. It is a generational investment in the safety and reliability of Portland's water," said Water Bureau Operations Director Kimberly Gupta.

If you have discolored water that is not a yellow tint, please report it to the Water Quality Line. Water that is brown or darker than a tint-more like coffee than tea in color-may be caused by something else happening in your neighborhood.

Quicker recovery

The new filtration facility will remove sediment from our water and allow us to safely serve Bull Run water after a fire or extreme weather event. Heavy rains can wash dirt, bits of plants, ash, and other organic material into our streams and reservoirs. This can be more pronounced following a wildfire. The Bull Run is currently unfiltered. Right now, if large amounts of dirt or organic material enter our supply, we can't safely serve the water.

Once the filtration facility is up and running, our upgraded multistep treatment process will help address turbidity (sediment suspended in water) and other potential impacts to our water supply that can result from a fire, a landslide, volcanic activity, or a large storm.

Filtration will not only provide stronger supply resilience-it will also help Portland comply with federal and state safe drinking water regulations today and in the future. The Water Bureau is required to build the filtration facility to remove the microorganism Cryptosporidium from our water.

The Water Bureau is working under a compliance agreement with the Oregon Health Authority to have the new facility in operation by September 2027.