Sanitary and Stormwater Rules and Standards Update

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:

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:

Workshop #1
Project Overview and Task Force Role
agendanotespresentation
Workshop #2
Stormwater Performance Standards (Site Planning, Water Quality and Flow Control)
agendanotespresentation
Workshop #3
Stormwater Minimum Requirements and Facility types (including green infrastructure and proprietary systems)
agendanotespresentation
Workshop #3A
Flow Duration Matching Tools
agenda presentation
Workshop #4
Sanitary and stormwater fiscal policies
agendanotespresentation
Workshop #5
Proposed Policies
agenda presentation

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  

Contacts
Department Staff
Leah Johanson
Senior Civil Engineer
503-742-4620
Don Kemp
Development Review Supervisor
503-742-4577
Ron Wierenga
Assistant Director
503-742-4581

Phone:503-742-4567
Fax:503-742-4565

150 Beavercreek Road #430, Oregon City, OR 97045

Office Hours:

Lobby hours
Monday to Thursday
7:30 a.m.–noon and 1–5 p.m.

Phone hours
Monday to Thursday
7:30 a.m.–noon and 1–5 p.m.

Email:
Customer service
wescustomerservice@clackamas.us

Development services and permits
wes-permitservices@clackamas.us

Related Events
Board of County Commissioners, Housing Authority, Water Environment Services, North Clackamas Parks and Recreation
-
Water Environment Services
-
Water Environment Services
-