Bull Run Watershed

Introduction

On June 17, 1892, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed the Bull Run watershed a national forest reserve. This provided important protection to the watershed. Within a year, construction began on 24 miles of pipeline from Bull Run to Portland. This mammoth project of brush clearing, ditch digging, and road building was done largely by hand. The Water Committee began constructing reservoirs at Mt. Tabor and City Park (now known as Washington Park) and expanding the City's distribution system . These ambitious public works projects continued through 1894.

On January 2, 1895, the first Bull Run water flowed to Portland. The Portland Hotel's menu boasted that it served only Bull Run water to diners in its elegant restaurant. Within two years the City's health officer documented a phenomenal decrease in the number of cases of typhoid fever and the lowest death rate on record at the time.

Description

The City of Portland has worked to protect this water resource . In 1904 President Theodore Roosevelt signed a "Trespass Act" which restricted access to the watershed. Today the City works closely with state and federal agencies and policy makers to assure continued use and protection of Bull Run. Meeting supply and distribution challenges and planning for the future marked the next decades. Through the 1920s, the Portland Water Bureau expanded the distribution system to meet the needs of the Portland metropolitan area, supplying water to a growing City population and an expanding wholesale customer base. In 1929 the bureau built Dam 1 as a storage facility in Bull Run and began to chlorinate water to disinfect it. During the Depression the Bureau delayed construction and maintenance projects to hold rates down. During World War II the bureau added tanks to the system to improve delivery and storage. During the post-war years, Portland grew. The bureau added more tanks, pump stations, standpipes and another supply conduit to meet growing demand. In 1962 the Bureau completed construction of Dam 2 in Bull Run. In the 1970s the bureau prepared again for future growth. Major studies examined supply, conservation, hydropower opportunities, rates, and corrosion control. The bureau drilled exploratory wells in the Columbia south shore area. In the 1980s the Portland Water Bureau completed several important projects. In 1983 the Washington County Supply Line provided gravity-fed supply to west side customers. The Columbia South Shore Well Field was brought on line and augmented summer supply during a shortage in 1987. Much has changed since 1895. Then, a handful of people on the Water Committee made decisions about a major public works -- we can be grateful those citizens had the foresight to choose Bull Run and to protect it as Portland's primary water source. Today the Portland Water Bureau acts in partnership with the citizens it serves, regulatory agencies, and a network of regional water suppliers to determine how to meet the supply and regulatory demands of the future. The Portland Utility Review Board , a citizen committee, reviews rates and charges. Citizens provide input and feedback on policy issues through a variety of forums.

(Courtesy of the City of Portland, Water Bureau)