PORTLAND — Portland homeowners are expected to pay about $10 more per month for water throughout the next 16 years to cover the cost of a new filtration treatment plant approved unanimously by the City Council.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Portland had been exempt from a federal law requiring municipalities to treat drinking water for a specific parasite, but that exemption ended after Portland was found to have high amounts of the organism in its Bull Run watershed.
The action taken by City Council on Wednesday was the most expensive option presented to the council to fix the problem.
The total cost of the facility is predicted at $350 million to $500 million. Construction will take at least a decade.
Mayor Ted wheeler says councilmembers “settled on the most challenging solution” because it’s the most “responsible solution.”
