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We are pleased to present to our customers our annual Water Quality Report for 2025, which documents our water supply continues to meet state and federal regulations. Both English and Spanish printer friendly versions can be downloaded at the links below. If you would like a hard copy of either version, please contact our Government Affairs Coordinator at 971-563-9503. Hard Copies are also available for pickup at our District Office, 19601 NE Halsey St.

• CCR English Printer Friendly PDF
• CCR en español (PDF para imprimir)

Rockwood Water People’s Utility District 2025 Water Quality Report

Consumer Confidence Report – 2024 Data Reporting

Message to Our Customers:

Rockwood customers, thank you for taking the time to read the Rockwood Water People’s Utility District 2025 Water Quality Report with water quality data from the 2024 calendar year. I am happy to report the District continues to reliably provide excellent quality water that meets all state and federal safe drinking water requirements, at a cost to our consumers that is well below the regional average water bill.

This year has been a big year for water infrastructure construction in the District. Through our Cascade Groundwater Alliance (CGA) partnership with the City of Gresham, we have completed major portions of our Groundwater Supply project including source water wells, water treatment, storage reservoir and pipelines needed to supply water to our customers. Benchmarks that we accomplished during 2024 include:

Source Water: Completed construction and started up Cascade Well #7 on 202nd St., which produces 5.5 million gallons per day (MGD) of water. Constructed and are nearing completion of Cascade Well #9 at Kirk Park, and completed drilling Cascade Well #6 near Stark St.

Water Treatment: The CGA broke ground on the 25 MGD Cascade Water Treatment Plant (WTP) on Halsey Rd. in the summer of 2024, and will be ready to produce water by the end of 2025. Rockwood began construction on its smaller 4.4 MGD WTP in August in the Glendoveer area, to be ready to produce water by the Spring of 2026. Engineering Design began on the third WTP near Stark St. that will be the final element of our water supply project.

Storage: The 6 million gallon Cascade Reservoir #2 was the first CGA facility to be completed in 2023, and it has been reliably providing water storage for Rockwood and Gresham since 2024. The rehabilitation of the 4 million gallon Cascade Reservoir #1 was completed, the reservoir was placed back in service December of 2024. Rockwood began construction on its new 1.9 million gallon Glendoveer reservoir in 2024.

Pipelines: 57,000 ft. of large diameter, transmission pipe, ranging from 18” to 42” was installed in 2024. The largest pipe brings water from the main WTP on Halsey St., south to the Gresham Grant Butte Reservoir and the Rockwood Bella Vista Reservoir. A pipeline to bring water to Rockwood’s western boundary at Glendoveer was constructed in 2024 and is nearing completion.

Kari Duncan

General Manager

Need Assistance? Contact Customer Service:

Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – Noon & 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

503-665-4179

Customerservice@rwpud.org

Public Participation Opportunities

Rockwood Water provides a variety of public information, public involvement & community outreach opportunities. If you have questions about our programs, public meetings, or capital projects, please contact us at 503-665-4179 or visit rwpud.org to learn more.

Translation

This report contains important information and should be translated. Do you need this document translated into another language? Go to rwpud.org/ccr2025 and use the Google Translator button to choose from more than 100 languages.

Este informe contiene información importante y debe traducirse. ¿Necesita este documento traducido a otro idioma? Ve a rwpud.org/ccr2025 y usa el botón Google Translator para elegir entre más de 100 idiomas.

Этот доклад содержит важную информацию и должен быть переведен. Вам нужен этот документ, переведенный на другой язык? Перейдите на rwpud.org/ccr2025 и используйте кнопку Google Translator, чтобы выбрать из более чем 100 языков.

Regional Water Providers Consortium

Rockwood Water is a member of the Regional Water Providers Consortium. The Consortium provides leadership in the planning, management, stewardship, and resiliency of drinking water in the greater Portland, OR metropolitan region. Learn more at regionalH2O.org.

Drinking Water Sources and Protection

The Bull Run Watershed, Portland’s protected surface water supply, is in the Mount Hood National Forest, 26 miles from Portland. The Portland Water Bureau and the US Forest Service carefully manage the watershed to sustain and supply clean drinking water for nearly one million people. In a typical year, the watershed receives an astounding 135 inches of precipitation (rain and snow), which flows into the Bull Run River and then into two reservoirs that store nearly 10 billion gallons of drinking water.

Find more information about the Bull Run at portland.gov/water/BullRun

Source water assessments are completed to identify contaminants of concern for drinking water. For the Bull Run, the only contaminants of concern are naturally occurring microorganisms that live in virtually all freshwater ecosystems, such as Giardia, Cryptosporidium, fecal coliform bacteria, and total coliform bacteria. The Portland Water Bureau regularly tests Bull Run water for these microorganisms.

Portland’s most recent source water assessment from 2019 is available online at portland.gov/water/SWA or by calling 503-823-7525.

The Portland Water Bureau treats water to control organisms that could make people sick but does not currently treat for Cryptosporidium. Portland is installing filtration to remove Cryptosporidium and other contaminants from drinking water by September 2027.

Columbia South Shore Well Field

The Columbia South Shore Well Field, Portland’s protected groundwater supply, provides drinking water from 25 active wells located in three different aquifers. The well field is between Portland International Airport and Blue Lake Park. Portland uses the well field for two purposes: to supplement the Bull Run supply in the summer, and to temporarily replace the Bull Run supply during turbidity events, maintenance activities, and emergencies. Find more information about groundwater at portland.gov/water/groundwater.

The Columbia South Shore Well Field is beneath homes and businesses with a variety of potential contaminant sources. The deep aquifers that are the primary sources of water supply have natural geologic protection from pollutants present at the land surface. Portland, Gresham, Rockwood, and Fairview work together to protect the well field. The cities’ Groundwater Protection Program works with residents and businesses in the well field to ensure that pollutants from this urban area do not impact the groundwater source.

The Cascade Well Field is jointly owned and operated by Rockwood Water People’s Utility District and the City of Gresham. Rockwood Water began using water from the Cascade wells in 2004, primarily during the summer months, as a supplement to Bull Run water. Groundwater from the Cascade wells is from the Sand and Gravel Aquifer located approximately 600 feet below the surface. Rockwood Water works with the Cities of Gresham and Fairview businesses to protect this important investment.

For information about water from the Cascade wells, or the Groundwater Protection Program, please contact Rockwood Water at 503-665-4179.

Rockwood Water PUD purchases some of its water from the Portland Water Bureau. Portland treats our drinking water to keep our community safe. Currently, Portland’s drinking water treatment is a three-step process:

1. Chlorine disinfects against organisms, such as bacteria and viruses, that could otherwise make people sick.

2. Ammonia stabilizes chlorine to form a longer-lasting disinfectant.

3. Sodium carbonate and carbon dioxide are added to Bull Run water while sodium hydroxide is added to groundwater to reduce the corrosion of metals such as lead.

Portland is in the process of changing the Bull Run treatment by 2027. Rockwood will discontinue purchase of Portland water once the District’s new Groundwater system comes online in 2026.

For more information on Rockwood Water’s Groundwater Project please visit: rwpud.org/cascade-groundwater-alliance/

For more information on the Bull Run Filtration Project please visit: portland.gov/water/bullruntreatment/filtration

What the EPA says can be found in Drinking Water:

Across the United States, the sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prescribes regulations, which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.

Contaminants that may be present in source water include: microbial contaminants, such as viruses, bacteria, and protozoa from wildlife; inorganic contaminants, such as naturally occurring salts and metals; pesticides and herbicides, which may come from farming, urban stormwater runoff, or home and business use; organic chemical contaminants, such as byproducts from industrial processes or the result of chlorine combining with naturally occurring organic matter; and radioactive contaminants, such as naturally occurring radon.

Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 or at EPA’s drinking water website.

Additional Testing in 2024

Every five years, the EPA requires Rockwood Water PUD and other water utilities across the country to test their water for contaminants that do not have a federal standard or limit. These are called unregulated contaminants. After testing rounds are complete, the EPA evaluates the test results and the potential health risks of the contaminants to determine if a standard is needed to protect public health.

In 2024, we were required to test for 29 types of PFAS as well as lithium in both Bull Run water and groundwater. We did not detect PFAS or lithium in any of the samples.

PFAS in particular are a concern nationwide, and the EPA recently set drinking water limits for six types of PFAS. Rockwood is fortunate that we have not detected PFAS in our drinking water and already meet these new EPA requirements. In addition to meeting these regulations, we will continue our work to protect and monitor our drinking water for PFAS.

More information at portland.gov/water/PFAS.

Definitions:

Action Level

The concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment of other requirements which a water system must follow.

MCL – Maximum Contaminant Level

The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

MCLG – Maximum Contaminant Level Goal

The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.

MRDL – Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level

The highest level of a disinfectant allowed in drinking water. There is convincing evidence that addition of a disinfectant is necessary for control of microbial contaminants.

MRDLG – Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal

The level of a drinking water disinfectant below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MRDLGs do not reflect the benefits of the use of disinfectants to control microbial contaminants.

N/A – Not Applicable

Some contaminants do not have a health-based level or goal defined by the EPA.

NTU – Nephelometric Turbidity Units

The unit of measurement of turbidity, or cloudiness, of a water sample.

ppb – Part Per Billion

Water providers use ppb to describe a very small amount of a substance within the water. In time measurement, one part per billion is about 3 seconds out of 100 years.

ppm – Part Per Million

Water providers use ppm to describe a small amount of a substance within the water. In time measurement, one part per million is about 32 seconds out of one year.

piC/L – Picocuries Per Liter

Picocurie is a measurement of radioactivity.

TT – Treatment Technique

A required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Special Notice for Immunocompromised Persons

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immunocompromised persons, such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly people, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791.

Notes on Containments

Arsenic, Barium, and Fluoride

These metals are elements found in the earth’s crust. They can dissolve into water in contact with natural deposits. At the levels found in Rockwood’s drinking water, they are unlikely to lead to negative health effects.

Fecal Coliform Bacteria

As part of Rockwood’s compliance with the filtration avoidance criteria of the Surface Water Treatment Rule, water is tested for fecal coliform bacteria before disinfectant is added. The presence of fecal coliform bacteria in source water indicates that water may be contaminated with animal wastes. This is measured in percent of samples with more than 20 colonies in 100 milliliters of water during any six-month period. Rockwood Water uses chlorine to control these bacteria.

Giardia

Wildlife in the watershed may be hosts to Giardia, a microorganism that can cause gastro-intestinal illness. The treatment technique (TT) is to remove 99.9 percent of Giardia cysts. Rockwood Water uses chlorine to control Giardia.

Haloacetic Acids and Total Trihalomethanes

Disinfection byproducts form when chlorine interacts with naturally-occurring organic material in the water. High levels of disinfection byproducts can cause health problems in people. Rockwood adds ammonia to form a more stable disinfectant, which helps minimize disinfection byproducts.

Nitrate/Nitrogen

Nitrate, measured as nitrogen, can lead to bacterial and algal growth in the water. At levels that exceed the standard, nitrate can contribute to health problems. At the levels found in Rockwood’s drinking water, nitrate is unlikely to lead to negative health effects.

Radon

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled. Radon can be detected at very low levels in the Bull Run water supply and at varying levels in Rockwood’s groundwater supply. Based on the limited levels of radon in groundwater after aeration, people are unlikely to have negative health effects from radon in water. Find more information about radon from the EPA at epa.gov/radon.

Total Chlorine Residual

Total chlorine residual is a measure of free chlorine and combined chlorine and ammonia in Rockwood’s distribution system. Chlorine residual is a low level of chlorine remaining in the water and is meant to maintain disinfection through the entire distribution system.

Sodium

There is currently no drinking water standard for sodium. At the levels found in drinking water, it is unlikely to lead to negative health effects.

Total Coliform Bacteria

Coliforms are bacteria that are naturally present in the environment. Coliform bacteria usually do not make people sick. They are used as an indicator that other potentially-harmful bacteria may be present. If more than 5 percent of samples in a month are positive for total coliforms, an investigation must be conducted to identify and correct any possible causes. Rockwood Water uses chlorine to control these bacteria.

Turbidity

Turbidity is the cloudiness of a water sample. In Rockwood’s system, increased turbidity usually comes from large storms, which suspend organic material in Bull Run water. Increased turbidity can interfere with disinfection and provide an environment for microorganisms to grow. Since the Portland Water Bureau does not yet filter Bull Run water, the treatment technique (TT) is that turbidity cannot exceed 5 NTU more than 2 times in 12 months. When turbidity rises in the Bull Run source, Portland switches to its Columbia South Shore Well Field source.

Contaminates Detected in 2024

Regulated contaminants detected in Portland’s untreated source water:

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Data table of regulated disinfection residuals and byproducts detected in Rockwood Water’s treated water in the distribution system: