Building a New Connection to Bull Run

Bull Run water is a very important component of Sandy’s supply system.  It makes a relatively large supply of water available to our community as our water demands grow, and provides important system redundancy in case of emergencies or natural disasters.

Federal regulators have mandated that Bull Run water must be treated for cryptosporidium by September 2027, and the City of Portland is building a new treatment plant for this purpose.  The location of the new plant means that Sandy needs to construct a new pipeline to access treated Bull Run water.

Current plans call for 11,500 feet of pipe, primarily along the Bluff Road right-of-way, and a pump station at Portland’s new filtration plant.

Construction details of the new Bull Run water pipeline and pump station are now under development as part of the new Water Master Plan update, but a conceptual alignment can be seen below.

City staff and consultants also studied the alternative of purchasing untreated Bull Run water and building a new treatment plant for Sandy instead, but analysis showed that over the long run (30 years), that option would cost almost $60 million more than the approach underway with the Drinking Water System Reinvestment Project.  More information on this issue is available in the staff report below.