WWSS Project Pivots in Response to COVID-19

To ensure there is enough drinking water for our community’s future generations, and to improve water supply reliability and resilience, the Tualatin Valley Water District (TVWD) and the cities of Hillsboro and Beaverton are partnering to develop the Willamette River at Wilsonville as an additional water supply source by 2026.

Design and construction of the new Willamette Water Supply System (WWSS) is underway, and includes a modified water intake in Wilsonville, a new state-of-the-art water treatment plant in Sherwood, water storage tanks near Beaverton, and more than 30 miles of pipeline from Wilsonville to Hillsboro.

This is a generational investment in the region’s infrastructure, and the partners (TVWD, Hillsboro, and Beaverton) are keenly focused on controlling costs. In response to utility revenue losses experienced by each of the partners due to the prolonged COVID pandemic, construction of several WWSS projects will be phased to defer near-term costs. 

This phased approach will not delay delivery of WWSS water to TVWD, Hillsboro, and Beaverton customers by July 2026.

• Deferring construction of one of the two 15-million-gallon water storage tanks until approximately 2035.
• Deferring construction of some segments of the PLW_2.0 Cornelius Pass Road pipeline until approximately 2029. A key section of this project through Orenco Woods Nature Park and north to Cornelius Pass Road will be completed in the next few years.
• Deferring minor elements of the water treatment plant project that are not critical to initial operations of the WWSS while maintaining high standards for drinking water protection through the advanced treatment process. Examples of deferred elements include an equipment storage building and phasing purchasing the equipment for back-up power generation.