ARTICLE
Last week, the Clackamas Water Environment Services (WES) Advisory Committee voted to maintain the current $7,850 System Development Charge (SDC) per equivalent dwelling unit for WES wholesale wastewater. Importantly, the vote, which aligned with staff’s recommendation, ensures the rate will not jump to the $13,179 maximum rate contained in WES’ recently released draft Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). In addition to the wholesale charge, most cities within WES' boundaries charge a retail SDC for growth-related improvements to local wastewater facilities. Given the high cost of WES SDCs as a percentage of overall housing costs, HBA commends the WES staff and Advisory Committee for balancing capital needs with housing costs. In light of current events, HBA also requested that WES revise the CIP and remove projects or project components that are no longer realistic in a 5-year timeframe. The Advisory Committee will review final project and finance updates in May, when they will also vote on the revised CIP. To learn more about our work with WES, contact Roseann Johnson at roseannj@hbapdx.org.