Water Environment Services

Clackamas Water Environment Services offers discounts on the sanitary sewer portion of its monthly bills to customers who meet the low income guidelines. Discounts are not applicable to surface water charges.

Income Limits

The 2025 qualifying maximum adjusted gross annual income by household size can be found in the table below. Household income is calculated as it would be on your federal tax return.

To qualify for the discount, please complete the application form.

Once you have completed your application, please return it to:

Attn: Customer Service        
Water Environment Services        
150 Beavercreek Road #430        
Oregon City, OR 97045

If you have questions about the customer discount program, please call 503-742-4567.

Online Utility Bill Payments 
Sign up, manage your account or make a payment — day or night. 
more information | How to update auto payment

By Checking Account
Set up autopay from your checking account 

By Phone 
Call 503-742-4567 24 hours a day to pay with your credit or debit card.

By Mail 
PO Box 6940 
Portland, OR 97228-6940

In Person 
Pay in our lobby or after hours drop box 
150 Beavercreek Road 
Oregon City, OR map

Pay your assessment bill or accounts receivable invoice.

Our customer service team is available to answer questions about our online payments system and other account options at wescustomerservice@clackamas.us or call 503-742-4567.

A Message from our Director, Greg Geist

Vision: Where We Are Going

Be a collaborative partner in building a resilient clean water future where all people benefit and rivers thrive.

Mission: Why We’re Here

Clackamas Water Environment Services produces clean water, protects water quality and recovers renewable resources. We do this by providing wastewater services, stormwater management, and environmental education. It’s our job to protect public health and support the vitality of our communities, natural environment, and economy.

What We Stand For

• Protecting Public Health
• Investment in Our People
• Stewardship of Healthy Watersheds
• Responsive Customer Service
• Fiscal Responsibility
• Water Resource Recovery

Our rivers support us, so we must take care of them. This often requires extra effort and collaboration within the community, which is why we actively build partnerships with our customers, member cities, and local organizations. Together we’re building a clean water future for all.
-    Greg Geist, WES Director
 

Our Strategic Plan
The Strategic Plan provides an overview of the organization’s key initiatives and focus areas

Our Service Area

Are you in the WES service district? Check your address in CMap.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are human-made chemicals found in a wide range of products used by consumers.

What are PFAS?

Per- and Polyflouroalkyl (POLY-floor-oh-al-kill) substances, known as PFAS, are persistent chemicals found in many consumer and industrial products including:

Widely used since the 1940s, U.S. manufacturers phased out two of the most common types of PFAS (PFOS and PFOA) in the U.S. in 2002 and 2015 although they are still present in some imported products.

Non-stick Pans Some Waxes

Stain-resistant Fabric Waterproof Rainwear

Firefighting Foam Paper Food Packaging

Why are PFAS a Concern?

PFAS do not break down in the environment or in wastewater treatment processes, which raises concern about potential health risks. More research is needed to help scientists understand how PFAS may affect human health. Several recent legislative and regulatory efforts across the U.S. have focused on limiting PFAS levels in drinking water. Research to adequately measure, monitor and evaluate the potential risks of these chemicals, even in trace amounts, is underway. PFAS have been classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a class of “emerging contaminants.”

What is Being Done About PFAS?

The EPA leads the national effort to understand PFAS and reduce risks to the public. The EPA is working on a nationwide drinking water monitoring process for PFAS. To learn about the EPA’s actions, visit www.epa.gov/pfas.

While PFAS have been detected in wastewater treatment systems, the facilities are not a source of PFAS. Clackamas Water Environment Services voluntarily screened for PFAS at our two largest facilities. The testing did detect PFAS, and the results were similar to those found at other wastewater treatment facilities.

Working Together

Dedicated to protecting public health and the environment, Clackamas Water Environment Services is aligned with our partner agencies and national water quality experts to follow developments in PFAS research. To learn the latest about PFAS in Oregon, Clackamas Water Environment Services works with the Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies (ACWA), which engages with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on sharing information the latest information about PFAS. Learn how the DEQ is addressing PFAS in Oregon.

About the Project

Clackamas Water Environment Services is updating its Rules & Regulations (Rules) and Technical Standards. The District Rules are established to serve a public use and promote the health, safety, prosperity, security, orderly and uniform administration of the District affairs, and general welfare of the inhabitants using the District’s sanitary and stormwater systems. In order to do so we need to adopt an updated set of rules of operation for WES. The purpose behind this is multifaceted.

Goals of the update are to:

• Develop consistent & comprehensive Rules and Standards for WES (District)
• Consolidate & streamline development review and approval
• Improve regional alignment with county/cities
• Address new regulatory requirements
• Update policies to reflect new technologies

Click here for a summary of the key policy proposals 

Key policies to be considered include:

Annexation (Rules, Section 2.4) - This section establishes procedures relating to the annexation of territory into the District. It is the intent of the District to promote orderly annexation of municipal and unincorporated land where it is determined in best interests of the District and adjoining cities to plan and provide for orderly development.

Sanitary EDU Assignments (Rules, Section 5.4.1) - Modify the Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) classification assignments methodologies to align with current understanding of sanitary discharge volumes and impacts by category.

System Development Charges Installment Payments (Rules, Section 5.4.10) - Where the District assigns more than two EDUs to a development the District may approve an application to pay the charge in installments and may lien the property for the amount financed.

Reimbursement Districts (Rules, Section 5.6) - A Developer who is not otherwise eligible for SDC credits and who chooses or is required as a condition of development to finance or construct public improvements of the sanitary and/or stormwater system, such that other properties will benefit from those public improvements may request that the District establish a Reimbursement District.

Use of Public Property (Rules, Section 9) - This section establishes Rules to protect the public use of WES owned and managed property and facilities and to establish violations of those rules.

Enforcement (Rules, Section 10) - This section presents the enforcement policies, methods, and processes used by the District.

Low Income Monthly User Charges (Rules, Section 5.8.3) - The monthly user charge for service provided to the principal residence of a household having a maximum income under the qualifying limits shall be 50 percent (50%) of the monthly sewer user charge.

Draft documents include:

• Rules & Regulations draft
• Stormwater Standards draft
• Sanitary Standards draft
• Buffer Standards draft

An ordinance adoption hearing for the Rules & Regulations is scheduled for May 4, 2023. Formal public comment will be taken at that time. Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance Adopting Rules and Regulations for Water Environment Services.

For questions please email us at WES-Rules-Update@clackamas.us

Stakeholder Interviews

WES identified approximately 15 members of the development community (development engineers, planners, and others who utilize the rules and standards) to interview about sanitary and stormwater design standards.  Information obtained during the interviews was compiled into a Stakeholder Interview Summary Memo.

Task Force Workshops

WES convened a Task Force to review and come to consensus regarding policy issues and technical standards that will be addressed in the rules and standards update.  Members of the Task Force included both developers and municipal agency partners. The Task Force workshops were intended to introduce and get feedback on proposed policy and technical decisions.

Task Force Workshops included the following topics:

Stakeholder Outreach

WES has completed an extensive Stakeholder Outreach Process.  Below are summary documents from the Stakeholder Outreach. 

Presentation to County Commissioners  
Informational Forum - Proposed Policy Boards  
Informational Forum 
Stakeholder Outreach Interview Summary