How The Water Bureau's Crews Are Making The Most Of Your Bill Payments (Photo) - 08/13/24

Maintenance Director Ty Kovatch available for interviews today

As the books close on fiscal year 2023-24, we can share that the final tally of Water Bureau service installations shows a record-breaking pace of effort! 

We are making each bill payer’s investment stretch to pay for 30,000 feet of new water mains, a record number of new customer installations, efficient fire hydrant replacement, and more. 

The bureau’s Director of Maintenance & Construction Ty Kovatch is available today to discuss the record-breaking efficiency with which our crews worked to bring homes and apartments into water service this year. 

WHAT:             20-minute interview slots are available with M&C Director Ty Kovatch 

WHEN:             Today, August 13^th from 12pm to 1pm

WHERE:           Remote or in-person at our Interstate campus, 664 N. Tillamook, Portland OR

Maintenance and construction crews put your bill payments to work by installing

• Mains.  For the fourth consecutive year we have achieved our target of installing 30,000 feet of new water mains—that’s enough pipe to summit Denali one and a half times!
• Services.  A new record for overall service installations and renewal, largely driven by the change in land use that allows higher density development on residential lots.
• Hydrants.  After an off year last year due to supply chain issues in the first quarter, our crews re-established our pace and then some.  The estimated useful life of a fire hydrant is ~80 years, which would require the sustained renewal rate of approximately 180 hydrants/year, and we have targeted approximately 250 hydrant install/replacements each year to account for the many years prior to 2012 when this pace was not in place. We closed the year with only 19 hydrants out of service in the system, which is 00.13% of all hydrants in the system, which is very low across our industry.

Please see the pictures and videos of our crews in action below for use in an article:

• Portland Water Olympics: main break simulation video
• Crews at work digital assets: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gD0QkAsl31tzR3BUhBRTz2rXoQnN3GLf?usp=sharing 

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.