Portland Water Bureau activates groundwater system

Today, May 6, the Portland Water Bureau discovered a leak on one of the supply conduits that delivers water from the Bull Run supply to Portland. As a result, the Portland Water Bureau is activating the Columbia South Shore Well Field to supplement the Bull Run supply with groundwater so the conduit can be safely taken off-line and repaired.

No action is needed by the public. The community's water supply remains safe to drink.

Portland Public Utilities Director Dr. Ting Lu noted that the Columbia South Shore Well Field is performing exactly as intended: acting as a reliable backup to meet our community's drinking water needs.

"Our water system is designed for resilience," said Director Lu. "Having two high-quality drinking water sources, the Bull Run Watershed and our groundwater system, ensures we can respond rapidly to maintain a safe, reliable water supply for our community."

Operations Manager Kimberly Gupta expressed gratitude to the dedicated Water Bureau staff who respond around the clock to keep the water system working.

"Getting water to flow from a faucet seems simple, but it takes the hard work of engineers, construction crews, customer service staff, certified operators and more to continually deliver safe water."

Customers with questions should contact the Water Quality Line at 503-823-7525.

About the Columbia South Shore Well Field

The Columbia South Shore Well Field is a robust secondary drinking water source that supplements our Bull Run supply. It can be used to augment water from the Bull Run during hot, dry summers and can be served when Bull Run water is unavailable for other reasons, such as a storm, flood, fire or unexpected impacts to infrastructure. Together, our two water sources improve the reliability of our water system and ensure that we can deliver excellent water every minute of every day.

Groundwater from the Columbia South Shore Well Field meets or surpasses all federal and state drinking water quality standards. The well field produces high-quality drinking water from protected aquifers deep below the ground.

Depending on a household's location, it can take up to two weeks for the groundwater blend to move through the distribution system and reach all customers' taps. The Water Bureau will operate the groundwater system until repairs on the supply conduit are complete. and will notify the public when the system returns to 100 percent Bull Run water.