Sustainability Commitment

The Portland Water Bureau has embraced sustainability as a guiding principle.

 "We will consider the financial, environmental, and social costs of business to make decisions that are fair and equitable to ratepayers and responsive to the environment."

-From the Portland Water Bureau's Sustainability Vision, January 2004

The Portland Water Bureau adopted a three-year Sustainability Action Plan in September 2007. 

The Action Plan includes specific action items and targets in the following categories:

• Energy
• Transportation
• Paper Use
• Water Use
• Toxics Reduction
• Property Management

Sustainability is central to the Water Bureau's environmental commitment and a part of all of its work, including

• converting the fleet of in-town trucks and cars to run on 99.9% biodiesel fuel (September 2006)
• recycling office paper as well as construction materials
• reducing use of toxic chemicals in the field, laboratory, and office
• adopting "green" construction standards for buildings
• making "green" changes to construction and maintenance practices
• generating hydropower

The Portland Water Bureau has also used sustainability principles to protect and conserve its water resources. Since 1892, the Portland Water Bureau has protected the land in the Bull Run Watershed; in 1988, the Portland Water Bureau began working with commercial and industrial partners to protect the Columbia South Shore Well Field. The bureau developed a habitat conservation plan to protect and improve habitat for ESA-listed fish. The Portland Water Bureau also provides free tools and technical assistance to help people conserve water in their homes and businesses.

Find out more in our archive of Water Bureau blogs about sustainable practices.

More recent activities include:

• Constructing of a solar generating facility in the Columbia South Shore Well Field
• Installing of micro-hydro equipment to generate energy from the water following through water system pipes
• Constructing a Sustainability demonstration house in partnership with other City bureaus and Portland-area non-profits
• Completing a carbon emission inventory

The Portland Water Bureau has already made considerable sustainability improvements, but the journey to a sustainable future is a long one.  The bureau's full-time sustainability coordinator continues to look for new ways to put the sustainability vision into practice. Visit links on this page to find out more about the Portland Water Bureau's sustainability programs, or e-mail the Portland Water Bureau's sustainability coordinator.