OREGON CITY, OR (Nov. 13, 2018) – Agencies are promoting water preparedness and asking for voluntary water curtailment, Nov. 14-16, out of abundance of caution for a waterline installation and repair in Oregon City.

The City of Oregon City and Clackamas River Water (CRW) encourage residents to plan for events – small and large that could impact local water supplies. Build an emergency kit which starts with water, and have your emergency water supply in place year round. For more information about steps you can take to create an emergency water supply visit: www.regionalh2o.org/emergency-preparedness

The water provider, South Fork Water Board (SFWB), discovered a low pressure/low volume leak in their 30-inch waterline located along Hiram Avenue in Oregon City which provides water to CRW’s Clairmont (South) Service Area, the City of West Linn, and Oregon City. The leak in the current waterline has been continuously monitored since discovery. As part of the repair process, South Fork Water Board is constructing a new 42-inch waterline that will allow for the leak to be fixed while maintaining a water supply to customers. To reduce the risk of major service disruptions to customers, the new 42-inch waterline will be installed first and activated. The leak in the existing 30-inch waterline will then be repaired.

During the 42” pipeline installation, pump stations in CRW’s South Service Area and Oregon City will be temporarily shut down and the water systems will rely on water stored in reservoirs. It will be important to minimize the demand on the water system during this period. Agencies do not anticipate any service disruptions or complications during the installation process, however, curtailment of water use by avoiding any non-essential water use November 14-16 is requested. Residents are asked to refrain from any outdoor watering, recreational outdoor water use, construction water use or other water use that can be postponed.

All agencies involved in this project are prepared to activate emergency water operations should any major issues arise with the installation of the new transmission line that may result in extending the curtailment timeline. Additional information regarding water quality and additional actions by customers will be shared on our websites at crwater.com, orcity.org, sfwb.org, Facebook, and Twitter in the event of an emergency.

All residents are also urged to enroll in the county emergency notification system at www.clackamas.us/publicalerts. By providing contact information, county residents can opt-in to receive critical emergency messaging via email, phone call, and text during times of disasters. For more information regarding this project, please see www.orcity.org/publicworks/project/SFWB-Emergency-Bypass.