Press Clippings

Water options look about same

$800 million - The Tualatin Valley district considers Hagg Lake or the Willamette as source

Friday, November 30, 2007

DAVID R. ANDERSON

The Oregonian

BEAVERTON -- The cost to the Tualatin Valley Water District is virtually the same, whether it gets drinking water from Henry Hagg Lake or the Willamette River during the next 50 years.

The financial news that each would cost about $800 million appeared to confirm the board's preferred choice of raising Scoggins Dam instead of the more controversial option of tapping the Willamette.

"I'm still thinking that that's the best long-term arrangement," Commissioner Jim Doane said Thursday. "It seems to be the lowest-cost solution, and it seems to be doable."

But the news didn't appease district critics, who long have fought against using the Willamette River as a water source, saying it is not safe to drink. They would prefer the district get additional water from Portland 's Bull Run system, which now provides about half the district's water. The rest comes from Hagg Lake .

Tom Long, leader of Citizens for Safe Water, testified at Wednesday's water district meeting that the quality of the water sources wasn't playing enough of a role in the district's decision.

"I'm angry," he told the board. "The emotional response is that we're making a 50-year decision on guesstimates and approximations, and we're doing it in five minutes."

District officials said cost was only one factor in the ultimate decision. Another big factor is the importance for the district of owning all its water supply instead of essentially renting half from Portland , Greg DiLoreto, general manager, said.

The district, the second largest in Oregon , has a 10-year contract with Portland that expires in 2016 to provide about half its water. District officials and consultants have been studying options to replace that water and serve future growth.

The cost analysis was the last major piece of information before the board makes a final decision Dec. 19.

The district will hold an open house Tuesday to answer customer questions and another work session Dec. 12. The district serves about 200,000 customers in unincorporated Washington County and portions of Beaverton , Hillsboro and Tigard.

Whether it chooses Hagg Lake or the Willamette, the district would continue to buy water from Portland to serve the Metzger area and to serve as an emergency backup.

The district's present-day cost to build and operate an enlarged Scoggins Dam for 50 years is $810 million. That includes the district's share of raising the dam 40 feet, building a pump system from the Tualatin River to fill the dam, installing new pipelines and expanding the treatment plant. The district's share of those construction costs is $275 million.

The total construction cost for the Hagg Lake option is $578 million, with Clean Water Services and Tigard, Beaverton , Hillsboro and Forest Grove picking up the rest of the tab.

The present-day cost to use the Willamette over 50 years is $800 million, which includes about $400 million to build a 22-mile pipeline from the Wilsonville treatment plant to Beaverton, increase the capacity of the plant and add reservoirs.

The option that would use Portland water for all additional needs would cost the district $875 million in current dollars.

David R. Anderson: 503-294-5199; davidanderson@ news.oregonian.com