It is important to know that per state law, wastewater rate revenue must only be used on the city’s wastewater utility. The revenue raised by the wastewater rate increase will be used to pay for the principal and interest on loans and special financing for the wastewater system improvements. The city is financially audited on an annual basis to ensure laws are followed and dollars are spent legally and appropriately. View the publicly available audit results.
There is a great deal of information on the reasons wastewater rates had to be increased, how Sandy’s rates compare to other area cities, and the required improvement projects currently underway available on the project overview page.
The City Council approved an assistance program to help lower-income individuals afford their utility bills. Those who meet the income threshold can have the wastewater portion of their bills reduced by 50%. For more information, visit the customer assistance program page.
While monthly utility bills include a base charge, much of the bill is calculated based on individual consumption. During the COVID-19 response, many local residents have been spending more time working or learning at home, which has increased water and sewer usage for most households.
In the past, Sandy had some of the lowest wastewater rates in our area. In fact, in many years over the past decade, billing rates did not increase at all even though system costs continued to rise. That meant the City had a lot of ground to make up to make the system's finances sustainable.
With the new increased rates, Sandy is about average relative to other cities in Clackamas County. View a graph comparing monthly charges for a typical single-family household on the Water Systems Improvement page.
Like many other cities, Sandy’s wastewater infrastructure is aging and there is limited funding available to make improvements. Our existing system is no longer able to reliably meet federal and state requirements that protect local streams and rivers, and our growing community is adding additional demand to a system under increasing strain. Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is requiring the City to address these problems as soon as possible.
The City of Sandy has three water sources. During the spring, fall and winter approximately 50% of the City’s supply is purchased from the Portland Water Bureau. The remainder of our supply comes from Brownell Springs and Alder Creek. During the summer when demand increases, each source provides approximately one-third of the total supply.
The City of Sandy has three water sources. During the spring, fall and winter approximately 50% of the City’s supply is purchased from the Portland Water Bureau. The remainder of our supply comes from Brownell Springs (a city-owned natural spring on Lenhart Butte) and Alder Creek (a small tributary of the Sandy River). During the summer when demand increases, each source provides approximately one-third of the total supply.
The City obtains some of its municipal water supply from Alder Creek, a tributary of the Sandy River. The Alder Creek watershed comprises approximately 4200 acres, 3900 acres of which drain to the City’s diversion structure.
Land ownership within the watershed upstream of the intake
