Your Water

Drinking Water Quality

Ensuring Quality Water

Safe, reliable drinking water is TVWD's number one priority. We consistently deliver water that meets or is better than all federal and state drinking water standards. All water we receive is treated by the agency we receive the water from. However, TVWD conducts regular water testing to ensure that the water we provide remains safe for you to drink.

Water Treatment

Portland Water Bureau

Both of Portland's water sources (Bull Run and Columbia South Shore Wellfield) are unfiltered. Chlorine, ammonia and PH adjustments are added to meet federal drinking water standards. Visit the Portland Water Bureau Water Quality Web Site.

Joint Water Commission

Water received from the Joint Water Commission (JWC) is filtered and disinfected at the JWC's water treatment plant before distribution into TVWD's water distribution system. Visit the JWC Water Quality Web Site.

Taking Water SampleTesting Your Water

The quality and safety of your water is our number one priority. TVWD, the Portland Water Bureau, and the JWC regularly test your water supply for approximately 200 contaminants. Testing includes all contaminants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), plus many unregulated contaminants. Sampling is conducted at various locations in the water sources, including the JWC water treatment plant and the distribution system.

To ensure that when you turn on your tap, your water meets this commitment, we constantly monitor the water by taking samples. Once these samples are taken, the testing process proceeds as follows:

  • Samples are refrigerated and taken to a certified testing lab.
  • The lab sends the test results directly to the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) Drinking Water Program (with the exception of Disinfectant Residual/Disinfectant By-products and fluoride reports, which TVWD sends directly to DHS).
  • A Consumer Confidence Report (sampling results from the past year) is sent to customers once a year.

Each element has different regulations to adhere to if they fall outside of the acceptable range. In the extremely rare occurrence that an element falls outside of the range, we will re-sample it. If it still falls out of the range, we will take whatever action is necessary to rectify the situation and follow the proper notification procedures. Because we purchase our water from the City of Portland and the JWC, many of the corrective actions would be taken by the entity who supplies the water.

Fluoride

We currently fluoridate the Wolf Creek portion of the District at 1.0 part per million (ppm). The Metzger area is not fluoridated because residents never voted to introduce fluoride to their water. The entities managed by TVWD (The City of Sherwood and the Valley View and Southwood Park Water Districts) also do not fluoridate their water.

Lead

TVWD's water source contains no detectable lead. Exposure to lead through drinking water is possible if materials in a building's plumbing contain lead. If you have questions about lead in your drinking water, the following resources can help answer your questions:

System Monitoring 

TVWD’s water system is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With our state-of-the-art telemetry system. Approximately 2,000 bits of information are examined, including water flows, pressure and reservoir levels, chemical feeds, and intrusion alarms. If the monitors finds anything wrong with any part of our system, an alarm alerts an operator to a problem. During nights and weekends, a dialing system notifies an after-hours operator to the alarm condition.

For More Information 

For more information about the quality of TVWD's water sources, contact our Water Quality Department or take a look at our Consumer Confidence Reports: