Information on Utility Rates

Water and wastewater utility rates last increased in June 2026.  We recognize the impact these increases will have on your household budgets, and we do not adopt them lightly. We’re doing everything we can to keep Sandy affordable, and this decision comes after exhausting all other options for additional resources.
 

Support for Ratepayers

Detailed Information About Utility Bills
 

Improvements Underway

The City of Sandy is making significant improvements to our water and wastewater infrastructure to ensure we better serve our residents for decades to come. The revenue from these rates is necessary to construct critical water and wastewater infrastructure to ensure Sandy residents can continue to have access to safe and reliable drinking water into the future, and to fulfill the legal requirements of Sandy’s wastewater consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Environmental Quality. While these investments are necessary for our City’s future, they come with a cost increase to ratepayers.

The Cost of Stringent Regulations

Sandy is subject to stricter wastewater regulations than almost any other city in Oregon. The state requires Sandy to comply with the Three Basin Rule, which raises the cost of the wastewater improvements we have to construct by tens of millions of dollars.  Unfortunately, these extra requirements do not come with any additional state funding.  The estimated total cost of our wastewater improvements is over $150 million.  More information on the Three Basin Rule is available here.

With regard to drinking water, the EPA and the Oregon Health Authority are requiring that Bull Run water (Sandy’s critical supplemental water source) must be filtered to protect against cryptosporidium, resulting in the need to construct a new filtration plant.  This in turn requires construction of new transmission infrastructure to ensure Sandy can continue to access Bull Run water.  Similar to wastewater, these expensive regulations do not come with any additional funding. Simultaneously, Sandy is investing in our primary Alder Creek water source to protect our water supply and minimize the need to purchase supplemental Bull Run water over the long term.  The total cost of our drinking water improvements is approximately $60 million.
 

What the City is Doing

We regret the need to raise rates, and we understand that higher rates have a meaningful impact on our community.  To that end, we continue to work to reduce the cost to ratepayers. Last year, we capitalized on legislative changes that allowed us to revise our approach to wastewater modernization and lower the cost of the project. The city continues to look for every opportunity to minimize the impact on ratepayers. In the meantime, we are hard at work on improving both our water and wastewater systems:

For Wastewater: This increase will go to support a new approach for how we handle our wastewater: a groundwater recharge solution.

For Water: This increase will go to restoring the full capabilities of the Alder Creek Water Treatment Plant and building a new connection to Bull Run to ensure we have enough water to meet resident demand.
 

Support for Ratepayers

Ratepayers trying to reduce their expenses can consider:

• Assistance Program
  The City of Sandy offers a Utility Assistance program for low-income households.  For more information click here.

• Water Conservation
  There are also many ways you can reduce your water consumption and lower your bill significantly.  Things like leaky toilets, old appliances, long showers, and inefficient sprinklers all use surprising amounts of water.  Here are 10 tips for lowering consumption indoors; and 10 more tips for lowering consumption outdoors.

What Does This Mean for My Bill?

Click here for a detailed breakdown of your utility bill.

Sandy has been successful in securing a variety of grants and low interest loans to finance the needed projects. However, to qualify for this favorable financing, the City must demonstrate that our utility rates are sufficient to make the required loan payments. The City is pursuing increasing system development charges paid by new construction projects to ensure that new development is paying for its impact on the system. 

Learn More

You can learn more about Sandy’s infrastructure reinvestment projects on the Public Works section of our website.  You can also review past City Council meetings, and get information on attending future meetings and providing public comments on our meetings portal.

As always, if you have questions about your bill, please feel free to contact us at (503) 668-7449 or Utilitybilling@ci.sandy.or.us.