Groundwater Development Program Package No. 1

The oldest and most extensive of Oregon’s aquifers in the Portland Metro area is the Sand and Gravel Aquifer (SGA), which has been used by Rockwood Water People’s Utility District (District) since 1926 when the District built its first groundwater well. The District teamed up with the City of Gresham to form the Cascade Groundwater Alliance (Alliance), which shared a mission to expand its groundwater supply through a groundwater development program. The program’s goal is improving their supply resiliency, ultimately lowering rates for customers while still providing clean drinking water.

In 2018, The District selected Consor to complete a Groundwater Development Master Plan. The focus was developing a roadmap for necessary improvements to allow the District to supply its customers with a local groundwater supply. The Plan, which was adopted in 2020, includes nine packages consisting of four groundwater treatment plants, one new 6.0MG water tank, five wells and wellhouses, one water storage tank rehabilitation, and 57,000 feet of water transmission piping.

Design for Groundwater Development Program Package No. 1 includes a new well (Cascade #7), rehabilitation of an existing 4.0 MG welded steel reservoir (Cascade #1), and multiple new waterlines. It also includes a new AWWA D 110 Type I 6.0 MG prestressed concrete reservoir (Cascade #2) which is the tallest of its kind in the United States west of Utah, and was placed into service in April 2023.

Our team is also providing construction management and inspection support. Working hand in hand with District staff and the contractor, our team overcame the many staging and sequencing challenges to maintain water delivery to District customers throughout the reservoir and associated waterline construction, which were connected to the existing delivery system.

The project package is one of nine to be completed by 2026 when the finished 26MG Cascade Groundwater System is slated to go online, which will fully provide both agencies’ customers with safe, resilient, and affordable water.