Portland Water Bureau
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Portland, Oregon |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent Service Area | Public Works |
| Website | www |
The Portland Water Bureau is the municipal water department for the city of Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its service district includes 225 miles within the Portland metropolitan area. The bureau manages a water supply that comes mainly from the Bull Run River in the foothills of the Cascade Range east of the city and secondarily from the Columbia South Shore Well Field near the Columbia River.
A city charter reform, passed by Portland voters in 2022, moved leadership of city bureaus out of the portfolios of city commissioners. The last commissioner to oversee this bureau was Mingus Mapps in 2024. As of 2025, the bureau is under the umbrella of the Public Works Service Area, headed by Deputy City Administrator for Public Works Priya Dhanapal. The interim director is Edward Campbell.
As of 2025, the city is moving to merge the Portland Water Bureau with Portland Environmental Services in an initiative called “One Water."
The Willamette River Crossing Project, which would replace piping that brings water to the West side of the city, is set to begin in 2027-2028. Prior to the replacement, this piping remains vulnerable to breakages in the case of an earthquake.
Budgeted departmental revenues for fiscal year 2015–16 included about $157 million for charges for services.