What Clean Water Services does

Clean Water Services is a county service district utility organized under Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 451, providing wastewater treatment and stormwater management services to over 600,000 people across urban Washington County, Oregon since 1970. The Washington County Commissioners serve as its Board of Directors, making it a public, not-for-profit-rate-base utility separately managed and financed from the county. CWS operates four water resource recovery facilities — Durham (21.4 mgd tertiary), Rock Creek (36.2 mgd tertiary, largest), Hillsboro (4.4 mgd secondary), and Forest Grove (3.9 mgd secondary) — that collectively treat 66+ million gallons of wastewater per day through biological nutrient removal, tertiary filtration, UV/chlorine disinfection, and the 92-acre Fernhill Natural Treatment System wetlands. The utility maintains 1,900+ miles of sewer pipelines with 44 pump stations and is responsible for 529 miles of a 1,565-mile regional stormwater conveyance system serving 12 partner cities.

The company's resource recovery operations are a distinguishing feature: the patented Ostara PEARL process recovers phosphorus and ammonia as Crystal Green slow-release fertilizer (780+ tons annually); cogeneration from digester gas offsets approximately 47% of electrical and 70% of natural gas energy demand; biosolids are recycled as Class B agricultural soil amendments (32+ dry tons annually); and 57 million gallons of treated effluent are reused annually for urban irrigation. CWS holds the nation's first watershed-based NPDES permit (issued 2004, reissued 2016 and January 2023), an integrated regulatory framework covering all four facilities and the MS4 stormwater system across the Tualatin River Watershed. Revenue is generated through monthly sewer and stormwater service fees to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, supplemented by one-time developer connection fees, permit fees, and budgeted rates adopted annually by the Board.

Go-to-market is structurally mandated rather than competitive: as a geographic monopoly, customer acquisition is driven by regulatory requirement and territorial obligation rather than sales motion. CWS markets indirectly through community education programs, the River Rangers volunteer initiative, social media across six platforms, public board meetings streamed on YouTube, and a monthly newsletter, while direct service delivery runs through utility billing, an online permit portal, and a customer service contact center. Recent operational priorities include a national-leading PFAS research program (1,400+ samples since 2019), proposed 2026 stormwater standard revisions, and post-investigation governance reforms following a 2025 forensic review of executive expenses.

Name

Clean Water Services

Legal name

Clean Water Services

Website

https://cleanwaterservices.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Clean Water Services is a county service district utility providing wastewater treatment and stormwater management for over 600,000 residents across urban Washington County, Oregon, operating four treatment facilities processing 66+ million gallons of wastewater daily under the nation's first watershed-based NPDES permit.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water and Wastewater Utility Services

NAICS

Sewage Treatment Facilities (221320), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Supply & Wastewater Utilities Administration (BPAIACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sewer Cleaning, Jetting & Root Control (EUANACAH), System Cleaning, Flushing & Commissioning (Pre-commission/Refurb) (BPABAJAG)

Keywords

• Wastewater treatment services
• Stormwater management
• Water resource recovery
• Nutrient recovery
• Watershed protection

Headquarters

HQ city

Hillsboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Sewer and Stormwater Service Fees: Clean Water Services generates revenue primarily through recurring sewer and stormwater service fees charged to residential and commercial customers. Fees are adopted annually by the Board of Directors as part of the fiscal year budget process. Customers pay monthly or bimonthly, and developers pay one-time connection fees. The utility also charges permit and development review fees for construction and development projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Clean Water Services is a county service district utility that collects, conveys, and treats wastewater and stormwater for over 600,000 residents in urban Washington County, Oregon. It operates four water resource recovery facilities that process more than 66 million gallons of wastewater per day, manages 1,900+ miles of sewer pipelines and 529 miles of storm sewers, and runs resource recovery programs producing Crystal Green fertilizer, recycled water for irrigation, biosolids, and recovered energy.

Product overview

Clean Water Services (CWS) is a county water resources management utility, not a commercial product company. Its 'offerings' are public utility services organized around four operational areas: (1) Water Resource Recovery — four wastewater treatment facilities (Durham, Rock Creek, Hillsboro, Forest Grove) treating over 66 million gallons per day on average, employing tertiary and secondary processes with UV/chlorine disinfection, anaerobic digestion for biosolids, and cogeneration for energy offset; (2) Resource Recovery — water reuse (57M gallons/year irrigation), Ostara PEARL nutrient recovery producing Crystal Green fertilizer (780+ tons/year) and Clean Water Grow retail product, and Class B biosolids land application; (3) Stormwater Management — 1,565-mile conveyance system with street sweeping, flood response, water quality monitoring, and the 92-acre Fernhill Natural Treatment System wetlands; and (4) Permits, Development & Community — online permit portal, Design & Construction Standards, LIDA Handbook, PFAS research program, and community education including virtual treatment tours. The NPDES watershed-based permit is the governing regulatory framework for all operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Durham Water Resource Recovery Facility

Quantifiable outcome

• Treats over 66 million gallons of wastewater per day to some of the highest treatment standards in the nation
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Clean Water Partners (Watershed Partnership Network)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1993Since 1993, a network of 15+ dedicated public agencies has collaborated to increase public awareness about Tualatin River Watershed issues. Partners include City of Lake Oswego, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, City of Tigard, City of West Linn, Clackamas Water Environment Services, Washington County, Multnomah County, Tualatin River Watershed Council, Tualatin Riverkeepers, Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District, and Washington County Operations and Maintenance. The partnership leverages resources and funding to deliver low-cost programs reaching broad audiences.
• Ostara Nutrient Recovery TechnologiescoreTechnology or IntegrationClean Water Services partners with Ostara at its Rock Creek and Durham facilities to use the patented PEARL process for direct phosphorus and ammonia removal from wastewater. This technology converts these nutrients into Crystal Green fertilizer, a premium slow-release, environmentally friendly product. The partnership produces over 780 tons of fertilizer annually, saves treatment costs, increases facility capacity, and reduces maintenance. Crystal Green is also a key component in Clean Water Grow retail fertilizer products.
• Tree for All (Arboles para Todos)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClean Water Services participates in the Tree for All partnership focused on large-scale sustainable restoration. In the Tualatin River Watershed, 15 years of collaborative work has resulted in over 140 miles of river planted with native vegetation and over 30,000 acres managed for watershed health by Tree for All partners. According to Portland State University's Sustainable Solutions Institute, restoration would have taken much longer, covered much smaller areas, or in some cases not occurred at all without partnerships.
• Tualatin River Watershed CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClean Water Services works with the Tualatin River Watershed Council (TRWC) on watershed planning, stream enhancement, flood management, and water quality projects. The council is a key partner in collaborative watershed restoration efforts.
• Tualatin RiverkeeperscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTualatin Riverkeepers is a key watershed partner working on public awareness, advocacy, and stewardship of the Tualatin River. Clean Water Services collaborates on public education, stream monitoring, and pollution prevention initiatives.
• Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on rural conservation programs including CREP and Enhanced VEGBAC programs for rural landowners, helping meet regulatory obligations and shared watershed health goals.
• 12 Partner Cities in Washington CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClean Water Services works collaboratively with 12 partner cities including Beaverton, Hillsboro, Forest Grove, Cornelius, Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, North Plains, Banks, Gaston, Aloha, and North Bethany to manage stormwater and watershed resources across the Tualatin River Watershed. Cities share responsibility for stormwater conveyance systems, implement stormwater management programs, and participate in the watershed-based NPDES permit.
• Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCWS collaborates with Oregon DEQ on the NPDES permit program. CWS administers DEQ's General NPDES 1200-Z permit for industrial stormwater discharges within its service area under agreement with DEQ. DEQ also partners on mercury minimization, temperature management, and emerging contaminant research including PFAS.
• Fernhill (Clean Water Services Natural Treatment Site)coreTechnology or IntegrationClean Water Services operates the 92-acre Fernhill Natural Treatment System transforming former wastewater treatment lagoons into constructed wetlands. The site cools and naturalizes effluent from Forest Grove facility before discharge to the Tualatin River. Fernhill NTS uses over one million native wetland plants and four billion seeds planted, serving both water quality improvement and wildlife habitat purposes. The site also serves as a public nature exploration area (fernhillnts.org).

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• East Bay Municipal Utility District: EBMUD serves 1.4 million people across the East Bay with drinking water and wastewater services, structured as an independent special district utility similar to CWS's county service district statute. Comparable governance model and operational scale to CWS's utility-district organization under Oregon law.
• Denver Water: Denver Water is the largest water utility in Colorado, focused on drinking water supply and treatment rather than wastewater, but operates as a similarly structured public utility with comparable scale and progressive utility management practice. Comparable as a major Western US municipal utility benchmark.

Direct peers

• King County Wastewater Treatment Division: Washington-state utility operating large-scale secondary/tertiary treatment plants (e.g., Brightwater, West Point) that drain Puget Sound watersheds. Highly comparable in scale, multi-facility operations, biosolids reuse, and progressive environmental leadership to CWS's Tualatin River Watershed operations.
• LA Sanitation & Environment (LASAN): LASAN manages the wastewater and stormwater system for Los Angeles, including Hyperion Treatment Plant and a major green-infrastructure program. Closest large-scale US analog to CWS in terms of integrated MS4/permitting, LIDA-equivalent low-impact development, and watershed protection.
• DC Water: DC Water Authority operates the region's wastewater and stormwater system for ~700,000 residents, with advanced treatment (tertiary, UV, biological nutrient removal) and major resource recovery programs (e.g., Blue Plains). Closest municipal analog to CWS in terms of population served, advanced treatment, and integrated MS4/permitting.
• Portland Bureau of Environmental Services: Portland's municipal wastewater and stormwater utility serving the Willamette River watershed. CWS and Portland BES are partners in the Clean Water Partners coalition and have overlapping watershed-scale NPDES models, similar permitting regimes under Oregon DEQ, and directly comparable operating models in the Pacific Northwest.
• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: SFPUC runs the combined wastewater/stormwater system for San Francisco with extensive green-infrastructure and watershed programs. Highly comparable integrated permitting, urban green infrastructure (LIDA-analogous), and resource recovery approach to CWS.
• Seattle Public Utilities: Seattle Public Utilities provides drainage, wastewater, and water services for the City of Seattle with comparable secondary/tertiary treatment capacity, stormwater management, and a strong environmental stewardship mandate - directly parallel to CWS's urban-water approach.
• Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago: MWRD operates seven wastewater treatment plants and extensive stormwater infrastructure serving ~5 million people in the Chicago region. Comparable scale and operational profile to CWS, with analogous biosolids reuse, stormwater management, and watershed permitting.
• Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District: NEORSD serves ~1 million people across 62 communities with advanced wastewater treatment and an extensive green-infrastructure/LIDA-equivalent program. Comparable size, multi-jurisdictional mandate, and forward-leaning green stormwater approach to CWS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cleanwaternews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CleanWaterServices
• Facebookfacebook.com/cleanwaterservices
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clean-water-services
• Instagraminstagram.com/cleanwaternews

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Clean Water Services