Portland Water Bills Could Double as Cost of Treatment Plant Soars to $2.5 Billion

PORTLAND, Ore. — As the Portland City Council’s public works debates authorizing $525 million in debt for the city’s billion-dollar water treatment facility, concerns have been raised that water rates could double, and alternatives are being suggested.

The estimated cost is now 5x the initial estimate.

Impact of Portland’s Expensive Water Treatment Facility on Ratepayers Raises Concern

To comply with federal rules, Portland must treat water from the Bull Run Watershed for cryptosporidium by September 2027.

But the cost has ballooned from an estimated $500 million when it was approved in 2017 to $1.5 billion in 2019, $1.8 billion by June 2023, and $2.1 billion in 2024. By February 2026, the cost was projected as $2.5 billion- five times the original estimate.

The city attributes the increases to inflation, legal challenges, and better cost certainty as the project moves forward, and debated the project at a recent city council committee hearing. Only Councilor Mitch Green voted against authorizing the $525 million debt to cover part of the project.

A retired city administrator, Mike Jordan, recently said the cost could go even higher, to as much as $4+ billion. Jordan added that rates will be increased “at a rate that will drive you all nuts.” His comments later featured at a recent public works committee meeting debating authorizing debt for the project.

Councilor Green is also pushing for an alternative and wants the city to ask the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) if there’s another, cheaper way to comply with federal drinking water rules. But Portland’s Water Bureau insists its hands are tied, and that the facility is required.

An agreement with OHA mandates filtration, but it allows amendment with the approval of both parties.