Wastewater Treatment in Portland

When you wash dishes, take a shower, pour stuff down the drain, or flush the toilet you create wastewater. The dirty water goes down the drains from your house to an underground sewer pipe. A system of collection pipes of various sizes lead to a treatment plant where the wastewater is cleaned and returned to the river.

Portland operates two wastewater treatment plants - Columbia Boulevard in north Portland and Tryon Creek in Lake Oswego.

At the treatment plants, wastewater goes through a series of processes to clean the water and remove solid materials and chemicals.