Clean Water Services details permit renewal, thermal compliance and recycled-water planning

Clean Water Services staff told the board the agency is preparing for an upcoming permit renewal and continuing technical work with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Interim General Manager Rick Stanley said collaboration with DEQ includes refining sampling approaches for natural treatment systems and advancing a thermal compliance road map that uses eDNA and mixing‑zone modeling to assess salmon passage risk.

Stanley said the agency has completed modeling that suggests a higher phosphorus limit could still be protective of water quality and that design and construction standard updates and intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) remain "high priority and a high focus" because they are compliance driven.

"We're spending a lot of time with DEQ to address some challenging ways that it's set up for monitoring right now," Stanley said, noting that sampling in natural systems differs from sampling at concrete structures. He added the thermal work is exploring alternatives such as storage and recovery and recycled-water options to meet future permit requirements.

Board members asked for clarity about timelines; Stanley said the goal for completing several IGAs is November of the year discussed, and the board scheduled additional work session time to align on technical and communications pieces ahead of permit actions.