Portland Public Utility Budget Challenges
Posted on May 22, 2018 by Janice Thompson
Tags, Water/Wastewater
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) requirement to treat Portland’s water to remove Cryptosporidium boosted the Water Bureau’s fiscal year 2018-19 budget over earlier expectations. Cryptosporidium is a parasite that can cause gastrointestinal distress. Though it is not a pervasive issue in Portland’s highly protected Bull Run Watershed, testing showed levels high enough to trigger an OHA requirement ensuring compliance with federal drinking water standards. With CUB support, the Portland City Council selected the filtration treatment option because it provided far more system benefits than the ultraviolet treatment alternative.
CUB supported the Water Bureau’s trimming of several capital improvement projects out of its fiscal year 2018-19 budget, but the cost of the new treatment requirement is such that rates will tick upward in the coming years. Two-thirds of Portland residents’ utility bills, however, are for sewage and stormwater management services provided by the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES). By comparison, the BES rate increase of 2.35 percent for a typical household in fiscal year 2018-19 is close to the rate of inflation. For a typical residential bill, the combined rate of increase will be 4.46 percent, or $4.82 a month, in the coming fiscal year.
CUB continues to carefully monitor filtration treatment planning, focusing particularly on the plant’s size to ensure that it isn’t inappropriately overbuilt. CUB will also continue monitoring all other future budget items from Portland’s public utilities.
CUB also supported the expansion of Portland’s assistance program for low-income water, stormwater management, and sewer customers. This expansion incorporates several elements, including an innovative pilot approach to assist low-income renters. Find more information on the expansion pilot here.
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05/23/18 | 0 Comments | Portland Public Utility Budget Challenges