Dear Valued Customer,
On behalf of Clackamas Water Environment Services (WES), I wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy 2022.
WES looks forward to serving you in the New Year and beyond. In 2022, WES will be working on several key projects that will strengthen our ability to provide you with affordable and dependable services.
WES is always planning ahead to meet the needs of a growing population, and 2022 will be no different. One example of our long-range planning is the 2021 completion of the Tri-City Solids Handling Improvements project, one of the most significant county infrastructure upgrades in recent years that ensures the wastewater treatments needs of nearly 200,000 WES customers will be met for decades to come. Upgrades at our Kellogg Creek Water Resource Recovery facility and other WES facilities also support this vital effort.
Another top priority for WES is to reduce inflow and infiltration, which is rain or groundwater that seeps into aging or cracked sewer pipes and increases the flow into our wastewater treatment facilities, which can cause costly damages. Solving this problem with cities in our service area that own many of these pipes will save ratepayers tens of millions of dollars over the next decade.
In the New Year, WES will complete our new Storm System Master Plan, which will provide us with a long-term roadmap for stormwater infrastructure to help protect our rivers and streams from pollution. We are also excited to move forward with our floodplain enhancement project at the 3-Creeks Natural area, which you will learn about in this newsletter.
As we begin a third year of the pandemic, WES remains sensitive to financial hardships for customers caused by the crisis, including waiving late fees for unpaid wastewater or surface water bills for the duration of the pandemic. We also offer low-income discounts, which you can learn about in this newsletter.
From the WES family to yours, have a safe and prosperous 2022.
Sincerely,
Greg Geist, WES Director
