About water development fees and charges
Portland Water Bureau collects fees and charges as part of the permitting process. Some of the fees pay for the staff that are part of the permit review process. These fees also pay for water service installations we perform. Other fees are System Development Charges (SDCs), which are one-time charges paid by customers when they apply for a new water meter (or increase the size of an existing meter). Money collected through SDCs are used to fund large Capital Improvement Projects, like the Bull Run Treatment Projects. Capital Improvement Projects benefit existing and future customers.
Current fee and SDC schedules
Cost sharing options
We cost-share the following projects with applicants:
- New water main extensions
- Upsized water mains when the existing main is undersized according to our current standards, and it's too small for the new development
- New public fire hydrants
- Water main connections from the public water system to privately constructed water mains ("Subdivisions")
If your project is eligible, you'll be responsible for 60% of the project costs. We'll cover 40% of the project costs.
The cost share program doesn't cover costs for installing, activating, or removing any services or service branches.
For more information about cost sharing, call the water permit review group at 503-823-7368, option 4.