Thanks to excellent planning decades ago, Portland’s water system has plenty of fresh, clean water for everyone. And we aren’t taking it for granted.

We’re planning to ensure the City’s water remains safe and abundant for generations to come, even as demands change and new challenges arise. It’s an effort we call the System Supply Master Plan, or SSMP.

The SSMP will help us keep our water system prepared and adaptable to future changes. This means that we need to understand that uncertainties in the future may affect our decisions about how we manage and invest in our water supply. 

Here are some of the uncertainties we are considering:

• Supply may be affected by climate change or natural disasters like fires, floods, droughts, and earthquakes.
• Demands may rise or fall, depending on population and the types of businesses in our communities.
• Water quality changes or new regulations may create new treatment needs.
• Cost of service may be impacted by regional or national economic factors that limit how much we can afford to invest in our water supply.

An early step in our planning is to measure how well our decision-making values align with the community we serve.

We’re doing this through an online survey where you tell us what’s important to you and what concerns you when it comes to our water supply.

What’s Next

Our next step after that survey is to put those decision-making values to work.

We’ll use these values to evaluate a range of solutions to address potential future challenges.

We’ll share our roadmap with you in the summer of 2020.

Questions?

For questions about the Supply System Master Plan or this survey, contact Cindi Lombard, PE, at (503) 823-5555 or Cindi.Lombard@portlandoregon.gov.