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  "description": "Local officials gathered on March 9 to accept an oversize check of more than $1 million to help tackle an oversize problem facing much of Washington County: When the Big One strikes, the taps will stop flowing.",
  "path": "/drinking-water-system-in-washington-county-gets-seismic-boost/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-13T23:38:17.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.newsinthegrove.com",
  "textContent": "# Joint Water Commission gets $1m boost for earthquake-ready water plant\n\nDignitaries from Forest Grove, Hillsboro, Beaverton, and beyond gathered on March 9 to accept an oversize check of more than $1 million to tackle an oversize problem facing much of Washington County: When the Big One strikes, the taps will stop flowing.\n\nA multi-year process to make the plant more resilient in the face of a major earthquake is underway, and the project got a boost after U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici secured more than $1 million to help offset the costs of a new disinfection facility on Fern Hill Road.\n\nForest Grove draws water from several sources, including in the Gales Creek area via the city's Clear Creek Watershed, the upper Tualatin River, Hagg Lake, and the Barney Reservoir. In addition to in-city customers, the city of Forest Grove has Gales Creek and other rural water customers.\n\nFor the water from the upper Tualatin River, the Joint Water Commission (JWC), a multigovernmental body made up of Forest Grove, Hillsboro, Beaverton, and the Tualatin Valley Water District, operates a water treatment plant just outside of Forest Grove on Fern Hill Road.\n\nThe commission plans to build a new liquid disinfection facility just south of the Tualatin River, a replacement for the current gas chlorine storage and feed system located on the ground floor of the water treatment plant built in 1974, prior to seismic requirements for buildings.\n\nThe Commission announced in January 2025 that they had been awarded $8.9 million from a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Program grant to build the replacement to the current chlorine gas system.\n\nHowever, the project cost increased since the original plans were drawn up.\n\n\"This Congressional Project Funding will help the JWC to reduce the local cost share which will help keep rates more affordable for customers,\" the commission said in materials handed out to event participants at a ceremony to accept the check.\n\nBonamici announced that the House had passed a bill with five projects from her First Congressional District in January, including the $1.092 million for the plant.\n\nAttendees got a tour of part of the water treatment plant on March 9. Photos: Chas Hundley\n\nOne driver of the cost increase was a change in seismic code that moved water facilities to the highest Class 4, the same classification as hospitals.\n\n\"This is the kind of thing that happens when we collaborate,\" Bonamici said to the gathered attendees at the site of where the JWC plans to build the new disinfection facility.\n\nBonamici toured the plant and presented an oversize check before heading to a town hall in Hillsboro.\n\nAlso present were dignitaries from Joint Water Commission members including Forest Grove Mayor Malynda Wenzl and City Manager Jesse VanderZanden, and Hillsboro Mayor Beach Pace.\n\nThe Joint Water Commission is the primary supplier of drinking water in Washington County, serving more than 450,000 customers across the county. The cities of Forest Grove and Hillsboro founded the entity in 1976, according to the agency. The city of Beaverton and the Tualatin Valley Water District later joined, and the city of North Plains is a wholesale customer of the Commission.",
  "title": "Drinking water system in Washington County gets seismic boost",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-13T23:38:18.219Z"
}