What is the Three Basin Rule and how does it impact wastewater treatment?

Sandy is subject to more wastewater regulations than almost any other City in Oregon. The Three Basin Rule - a state drinking water regulation originally adopted in the 1970s and last amended in the 1990s - permanently caps the volume of effluent that can be discharged in the Clackamas, Santiam, and McKenzie river basins. Compliance with the Three Basin Rule raises the cost of our required capital improvements at least $60 million; a cost that shouldn’t be borne by a town of 13,000 residents for the benefit of over 300,000 downstream water customers. We continue to explore whether that rule can be amended, but the comprehensive approach being adopted by the city will mean sending our wastewater to Gresham so that it is no longer subject to the Three Basin Rule.