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. TVWD only contracts with laboratories that have been approved by the Oregon Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ORELAP) to analyze drinking water standards.
  • 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.

TVWD Water Supply Water Quality Summary

TVWD has compiled a comprehensive summary of the water purchased from the Portland Water Bureau and water owened from the Joint Water Commission. The TVWD Water Supply Water quality Summary (PDF) lists a variety of regulated and unregulated contaminants not listed in the Consumer Confidence Report.

Fluoride

TVWD fluoridates the Wolf Creek portion of the District at 0.7 part per million in accordance with the proposed guidance of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The District uses sodium fluoride manufactured specifically for drinking water.

Only a portion of TVWD's service area is fluoridated because TVWD was formed by the merger of two separate water districts, the Wolf Creek Highway Water District and the Metzger Water District.  Residents in the Wolf Creek Highway Water District voted to add fluoride to their water and this practice continues in response to this vote.  The Metzger Water District did not take action regarding the fluoridation of their water. Other water districts operated and managed by TVWD, including the Valley View Water District and Southwood Park Water District do not fluoridate their water. 

If you live in an area served by TVWD that is fluoridated, this information is noted on your water bill.  The fluoridated service area can also be viewed at the TVWD Fluoride Map (PDF).

The Joint Water Commission Web site also has an excellent fluoridation map.

Additional information about supplemental fluoridation - including recommendations for families with small children - is available at  the Center for Disease Control's Web site.

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 find 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.

Radiation 

Both the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are closely monitoring radiation levels linked to the nuclear power event in Japan. Currently, there is no public health risk due to radiation levels from Japan. For more information, call the OHA's information line at 1-877-290-6767, visit the OHA's Radiation Web page or the EPA's Radiation Web page.

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: