Cryptosporidium Monitoring Update: Detections From Routine Monitoring In The Bull Run. Customers Do Not Need To Take Any Additional Precautions At This Time. -04/25/25

Since 2017, the Portland Water Bureau has detected low levels of Cryptosporidium from routine monitoring of source water. The Portland Water Bureau received results from ongoing monitoring from the Bull Run Watershed intake for Cryptosporidium, a potentially disease-causing microorganism. In the 50 liters sampled each day from April 20 to April 23, one Cryptosporidium oocyst was detected in the sample collected on April 21. Cryptosporidium was not detected in the samples collected on April 20, April 22, or April 23. Prior to these detections, Cryptosporidium was last detected from the Bull Run Watershed intake on April 15, 2025.

 

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 30, 2027 under a compliance schedule with the 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.

 

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 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 Bull Run. To learn if your drinking water comes from Bull Run, please contact your local drinking water provider.

 

The public and the media are encouraged to view all sampling results posted to the City’s website at portland.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 Quality Line at 503-823-7525.

 

About the Portland Water Bureau

The Portland Water Bureau serves water to almost a million people in the Portland area. Portland’s water system includes two great water sources, 53 tanks and reservoirs, and 2,200 miles of pipes. With 600 employees working on everything from water treatment to customer service, the Water Bureau is committed to serving excellent water every minute of every day.

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrate Earth Day With Portland Water’s Emissions Tracker (Photo) -04/21/25

Bureau’s progress toward net zero is ahead of schedule

Tired of reading about impending climate-related doom? This Earth Day, the Portland Water Bureau has a plan to create water system resilience and reduce greenhouse gases—and now we have a tool that lets the public track our progress toward net zero.

 

The Water Bureau’s Net Zero Strategy outlines our plan to cut emissions in half by 2030 (compared to a 2007 baseline)—and we’re on track to meet that goal! Portlanders can track our progress using the Portland Water Bureau emissions dashboard, with an interactive breakdown of our electricity use, natural gas use, and fleet metrics, as well as engaging infographics.

 

Portland Water’s Adaptive Planning, Demand Management and Climate Manager Kavita Heyn is a national leader in resilience. In addition to her role with the Water Bureau, she serves as the staff chair of the Water Utility Climate Alliance, a national coalition of 12 large water utilities that collectively serve drinking water to 50 million people throughout the United States. She is eager to share the tangible steps Portland Water is taking to reduce emissions. 

 

What’s driving our progress? We are…

• Investing in supply resilience and reliability through adaptive planning, our groundwater system and a new filtration facility that will reduce outages of the Bull Run supply after wildfires, landslides and turbidity.
• Investing in climate resilience to drought, heatwaves, wildfires, floods, supply chain disruptions and climate-related financial risk.
• Investing in decarbonization and renewable energy to reduce emissions, increase efficiencies, reduce operating costs, generate clean energy and save our customers money in the long run.

What specific actions are we taking to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions? We are…

• Building smarter. We used low-carbon concrete in the new Washington Park Reservoir seismic upgrades to decrease the total project greenhouse gas emissions. Building this reservoir with low-carbon concretesaved the same amount of carbon as taking 750 cars off the road for a year.
• Reducing electricity use through energy savings contracts and energy management programs, water loss prevention, and climate-smart planning and design practices.
• Increasing renewable energy generation by looking for new solar and micro-hydro opportunities. The Washington Park micro-hydro project alone will generate 230,000 kWh per year, saving the Portland Water Bureau the equivalent of $130,000 per year in electricity bills in the first 10 years of operation.
• Reducing fleet emissions by transitioning to electric and high-efficiency vehicles. 
• Beginning to phase out natural gas by switching to electric heating sources.

The following digital assets can help with your reporting:

• Our Microsoft Power BI emissions tracking dashboard, which gives an interactive breakdown of our electricity use, natural gas use, and fleet metrics, as well as infographics on our progress so far.
• An image-heavy climate story map describing the scope of the challenge we face and how we’re preparing to meet that challenge.
• The full text of our Net Zero Strategy), including steps to neutralize emissions, enhance water system resilience, improve system efficiency, and reduce costs for our customers and ratepayers.

About the Portland Water Bureau

The Portland Water Bureau serves water to almost one million people in the Portland area. Portland’s water system includes two great water sources, 54 tanks and reservoirs, and 2,250 miles of pipes. With 600 employees working on everything from water treatment to customer service, the Water Bureau is committed to serving excellent water every minute of every day. 

Slow Down For Workers As Construction Season Enters High Gear (Photo) -04/21/25

Protect workers, protect yourself: slow down in work zones

 

The public servants building projects that improve our lives have family to protect and support, just like you. That’s why Portland Public Works is reminding the public to keep their distance from crews at work and slow down when traveling through work zones to mark the 2025 National Work Zone Awareness Week.

 

Construction season is kicking into high-gear, and crews will be out in neighborhoods across the city doing the critical work of improving, replacing, and maintaining our transportation, water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure that Portlanders rely on every hour of every day.

 

“Together, Portland’s Public Works teams—across transportation, water, sewer, and stormwater—are building and maintaining the infrastructure our city depends on,” said Deputy City Administrator for Public Works Priya Dhanapal. “These crews work hard, often in dangerous conditions, to serve all of us. We owe it to them to slow down and stay alert.”

 

Most people killed in work zone crashes are drivers and their passengers. In 2021, 778 drivers and their passengers died in work zones (based on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data), making it even more important for drivers to slow down and stay focused while approaching and passing through a roadway work zone.

 

Work zones play a crucial role in separating construction and maintenance activities from traffic. They provide a safe area for workers and a safe route for all road users (people walking, bicycling, rolling, and driving. However, work zones also frequently involve changes in traffic patterns and rights of way. Those changes, combined with the presence of workers and the frequent movement of work vehicles, may lead to crashes, injuries, and fatalities.

 

Portland and cities across the nation continue to see a rise in fatal traffic crashes that defy historical trends. Through the Vision Zero program, the City of Portland and our partners are working to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries on our streets.

 

To further protect yourself and city workers from death and injury, the Public Works Service Area bureaus (PBOT, BES, and PWB) ask Portlanders to follow these safety steps: 

• SLOW DOWN. Speed is the number one factor in fatal work zone crashes.
• GIVE SPACE. Don’t tailgate and keep clear of construction workers and equipment.
• PUT PHONES AWAY. Distraction is deadly—and illegal.
• FOLLOW THE SIGNS. Signs and flaggers are there for a reason.
• CHOOSE ANOTHER ROUTE. If you can, steer clear of active work zones.
• BE KIND. Expect delays and give crews grace—they’re working for you.

 

Watch this video from Public Works crews working to keep the street safe, the water on, and sharing why safety around work zones is so important:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPzP2XhmeCI

 

 

About National Work Zone Awareness Week 

 

National Work Zone Awareness Week runs from April 21-25, 2025. Work zones play a key role in maintaining and upgrading Portland's roadways, water, and sewer infrastructure and more. Unfortunately, daily changes in traffic patterns, narrowed rights-of-way, and other construction activities often create a combination of factors resulting in crashes, injuries, and even fatalities. These crashes also cause excessive delays, especially given the constrained driving environment.

 

Recent statistics from the National Highway Safety Administration show that between 2020 and 2021, work zone fatalities increased by 10.8 percent while overall roadway fatalities increased by 10.3 percent.

 

About PBOT 

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is the steward of the City’s transportation system, and a community partner in shaping a livable city. We plan, build, manage and maintain an effective and safe transportation system that provides access and mobility. Learn more at portland.gov/transportation.

About the Portland Water Bureau

The Portland Water Bureau serves water to almost a million people in the Portland area. Portland’s water system includes two great water sources, 54 tanks and reservoirs, and 2,250 miles of pipes. With 600 employees working on everything from water treatment to customer service, the Water Bureau is committed to serving excellent water every minute of every day. 

Cryptosporidium Monitoring Update: Detections From Routine Monitoring In The Bull Run. Customers Do Not Need To Take Any Additional Precautions At This Time. -04/18/25

Since 2017, the Portland Water Bureau has detected low levels of Cryptosporidium from routine monitoring of source water. The Portland Water Bureau received results from ongoing monitoring from the Bull Run Watershed intake for Cryptosporidium, a potentially disease-causing microorganism. In the 50 liters sampled each day from April 13 to April 16, one Cryptosporidium oocyst was detected in the sample collected on April 15. Cryptosporidium was not detected in the samples collected on April 13, April 14, or April 16. Prior to these detections, Cryptosporidium was last detected from the Bull Run Watershed intake on March 26, 2025.

 

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 30, 2027 under a compliance schedule with the 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.

 

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 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 Bull Run. To learn if your drinking water comes from Bull Run, please contact your local drinking water provider.

 

The public and the media are encouraged to view all sampling results posted to the City’s website at portland.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 Quality Line at 503-823-7525.

 

About the Portland Water Bureau

The Portland Water Bureau serves water to almost a million people in the Portland area. Portland’s water system includes two great water sources, 53 tanks and reservoirs, and 2,200 miles of pipes. With 600 employees working on everything from water treatment to customer service, the Water Bureau is committed to serving excellent water every minute of every day.