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The Portland Water Bureau is building a new filtration facility and pipelines to protect public health and comply with federal and state safe drinking water regulations. These improvements to the Bull Run water system will help keep our water safe and abundant for generations to come.
Filtration benefits
We're building a new drinking water filtration facility and pipelines to keep our water safe and abundant for the nearly one million people who depend on it today and for future generations. Bull Run Filtration is needed to comply with federal and state safe drinking water regulations and remove the disease-causing microorganism Cryptosporidium from our water supply.
Bull Run Filtration will benefit:
- Our health: using proven treatment methods to deliver clean, safe drinking water to customers.
- Our economy: creating jobs building water infrastructure vital to local businesses, industry, and residents.
- Our future: enhancing our water system's resilience, reducing future risks, and better protecting customers.
Achieving compliance
We met the first two major project compliance milestones with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).
- November 30, 2020 (completed): submitted pilot study and preliminary planning
- October 31, 2022 (completed): submitted final construction plans and construction schedule
Our initial Bilateral Compliance Agreement (BCA) with OHA requires us to finish filtration by September 30, 2027. The City is working with OHA on extending that deadline. On January 30, 2026, we asked OHA to extend the deadline to September 30, 2029. This extension would account for delays from the land use process. It would also allow for an eight-month contingency to address unforeseen conditions such as weather delays, site conditions that slow construction, or supply chain issues for materials or equipment. The additional time will allow us to deliver this critical project without compromising construction safety or the integrity of the facility. The City is working with OHA to coordinate on the extension.
Project overview
The improvements we're building will use filtration treatment to protect public health and remove sediment, organic material, and other potential contaminants from Bull Run water, providing consistent high-quality drinking water and making our water system more reliable.
The project includes a new water filtration facility designed to filter 135 million gallons of water per day. We're also designing new seismically resilient pipelines to connect the facility to our existing water system and retire aging segments of existing pipeline.
Project timeline
It takes about 10 years to plan, design, and build a project of this size. We started construction in summer 2024 and have made significant progress on the facility and pipelines. Our current compliance agreement requires us to finish by September 30, 2027. If the Oregon Health Authority grants our request for an extension, the project timeline will be extended.
We're committed to engaging with our community, gathering feedback, and keeping customers informed throughout the project. Check out our community outreach history and upcoming opportunities to get involved.
- Sign up for projects updates
- Find upcoming events
- Learn about work with our Site Advisory Group
- Learn about the ongoing land use permitting process
Current work: Construction
We broke ground on construction in summer 2024. Crews are working 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. As of February 2026, crews have:
- Completed major site excavation and grading
- Begun concrete construction for the treatment basins
- Installed over 7,000 feet (1.2 miles) of new resilient water pipelines
In the months ahead, the new filtration facility will begin to take shape above ground. For information about current and upcoming work, visit the filtration construction webpage.
Key construction milestones include:
- 2023: We received approval of the first set of guaranteed maximum price agreements that allowed early work to begin, including ordering long-lead materials.
- June 2024: We started the first phase of construction at the facility site, including mass excavation and grading.
- December 2024: We started the second phase of construction at the facility site, including concrete work for the treatment basins and critical structures.
- January 2025: The Land Use Board of Appeals sent one item from our land use permit back to Multnomah County. We had to pause construction during that period.
- June 2025: Multnomah Country reapproved our land use permit.
- July 2025: We restarted construction work.
The water filtration facility and pipelines are being built using Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) delivery. The construction contracts include strong participation by equity contractors as well as commitments to diverse workforces.
Benefits of CM/GC delivery
- Received contractor input during design to identify the best construction methods and sequencing to help protect the environment, limit disruption to the community, and maintain continuous water delivery to our customers.
- Quick start for construction to keep our compliance schedule on track.
Benefits of equity commitments
- Helping to stimulate the local economy, address historical inequities, and ensure our workforce reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.
- Construction includes $396 million in contracts with firms certified by the Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID).
- Certified firms make up 26 percent of contracted work for the filtration facility and 34 percent for the pipelines with participation from 79 different minority-owned, women-owned, disadvantaged, or emerging small businesses.
Completed work
Planning (2018-2020)
We completed two years of planning work and community engagement to guide design of the water filtration facility and pipelines.
Key milestones include:
- In 2018, Portland City Council identified the facility location and size, and the filtration technology best-suited for Portland's drinking water.
- In 2019, following those initial Council decisions, we completed extensive planning and engineering analysis to guide design of the facility and pipelines. This work is documented in the Project Definition Report.
- In November 2019, City Council approved Resolution 37460 which set priority values and expectations to guide project design and implementation.
- In October 2020, we identified preferred routes for new pipelines to connect the facility to the existing water system.
Design (2020-2023)
We designed the new water filtration facility and pipelines to be key components of a resilient water system. This includes a multi-barrier filtration treatment process to better protect against water quality risks from a fire or other natural disaster. We also took a holistic approach to sustainable design to improve reliability and optimize energy use at the new facilities.
Key milestones include:
- In July 2021, we completed the first design milestone for the water filtration facility: The Filtration Facility Basis of Design Report. The report described preliminary design of the facility, established water quality and level of service goals, and provided detailed narratives for each treatment process. The report also included design criteria for key disciplines, site utilization plans, and project implementation strategies.
- In October 2022, we submitted the final filtration construction plans and schedule to the Oregon Health Authority.
- In November 2023, we received approval of our land use permits from both Multnomah and Clackamas counties.
Benefits of treatment process
- Removes Cryptosporidium and other potential disease-causing microorganisms from the Bull Run supply.
- Helps address turbidity (suspended sediment in water) and other potential impacts to the water supply that could result from a fire, landslide, or other natural disaster.
- Reduces regulated compounds that can cause cancer (disinfection byproducts) by removing organics in the water.
Benefits of sustainable design
- Water filtration facility will use gravity flow, which is more reliable and energy-efficient than pumped systems.
- Use of low-carbon concrete is planned for facility process basins and structures to help reduce supply-chain greenhouse gas emissions.
- Facility Administration Building is expected to have net-zero energy use.
- Participating in a pilot program to identify local and regional market options for sustainably sourced construction wood products.
- Pursuing Envision certification for the facility, which provides a third-party framework for assessing sustainability, resilience, and equity in civil infrastructure.
- Working with the Energy Trust of Oregon to identify other energy reduction opportunities.
Project costs and funding
As of February 2026, the current cost estimate for the filtration facility and pipelines is $2.56 billion.
The projects are funded with:
- Revenues from water rates, fees and charges
- Proceeds from selling bonds, a common method we use to help pay the upfront costs of large projects
- Low-interest federal loans through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA)
The WIFIA loans will significantly reduce the cost to ratepayers while keeping the region's water safe and abundant for generations to come.
We're committed to minimizing the impacts on water rates by actively managing costs throughout the life of the project. We've formed a Project Delivery Advisory Team to advise the project team on cost management.
If you're having trouble affording your bill, our Financial Assistance program may be able to help.
Learn more about the project costs and funding
Public outreach
Since 2017 we have been committed to keeping community informed and involved. We have hosted dozens of community meetings —both in-person and online, including 30+ with project site neighbors and ongoing availability to request our team to present to your community or business group. Through the bureau’s outreach and engagement processes, many local community members have provided valuable feedback to identify concerns and collaborate on methods to reduce project impacts.
We also send a monthly e-news with general project updates, weekly e-news with project construction updates, and text notifications for traffic impacts. Sign up for these notifications and visit our Outreach History webpage for more about our engagement activities.
Project location
The water filtration facility is being built on City property in eastern Multnomah County that was purchased back in the 1970s because of its proximity to our existing infrastructure and the site elevation. This location allows gravity flow of water from the Bull Run Watershed through the new filtration facility to our customers in the Portland region.