Public Works

Welcome From the Public Works Director

Welcome to Oregon City Public Works!

We are pleased to serve Oregon City - its residents, businesses and employees, students, and visitors. As the Public Works Director, I am very pleased to offer to the community a dedicated top-notch staff who are well-trained and committed to serving customer needs when it comes to public infrastructure and facilities. Our job is to deliver safe and reliable sewer, storm water, transportation, and potable water systems to our users. The Public Works staff plans, constructs, and maintains these systems with a close eye on high-quality, progressive practices, controlling costs, and customer service.

We hope you will find whatever you are seeking on our webpage. We have assembled information about the department organization, details about each division, documents and standards about which you may have interest, and updated information on construction projects around town.

We want to hear from you if you have questions, concerns, or suggestions.

John M. Lewis, PE
Public Works Director

Mission Statement

To operate and maintain existing public infrastructure; plan and construct capital improvements; and protect public health and safety, water quality, and natural resources to ensure the community is provided with safe, sustainable, and financially sound systems for potable water distribution, wastewater collection, surface water management, and multi-modal transportation.

• Providing Sustainable Public Infrastructure
• Protecting Public Health and Safety, Water Quality, and Natural Resources
• Promoting Community Values

Organization

Public Works consists of:

• Engineers
• Inspectors
• Technicians
• Operations
• Maintenance personnel

Oregon City Public Works is comprised of the Engineering Group and the Operations Group. Both Groups are now located in the new Oregon City Engineering and Operations Complex located at 13895 Fir Street, Oregon City.

Services

Engineering Group: Responsible for the planning, design, construction, and database mapping for Oregon City public infrastructure including capital improvement projects, development projects, and asset management. Generally comprised of Engineering Services, Development Services and Right-of-Way Services.

• Issue permits for items such as:
  • Driveways
  • Sidewalks
  • Grading
  • Erosion control
  • Sewer and water services
  • Road closures
  • Moving pods
  • Special events, and much more
• Engineer new improvements and review improvements engineered by others relating to the roads, sewers, and water mains. These improvements exist in the right-of-way (typically a roadway and its sidewalks) or within recorded easements
• Coordinate with Portland General Electric (PGE), NW Natural, CenturyLink, Comcast, and all of the other private utility providers to ensure their needs do not conflict with the City's needs
• Ensure improvements are constructed to the standards adopted by the City Commission which reflect industry standards

Operations Group: Responsible for operating and maintaining the Oregon City public infrastructure systems, including the Water Division, Wastewater (Sewer) Division, Stormwater Division, and Street (Transportation) Division.  The Group also supports a Fleet Division which maintains the City's fleet.

• Maintain quality drinking water by keeping it clean and ensuring proper pressure for use
• Maintain the stormwater (rainwater) and sanitary (kitchen, bathroom, and laundry waste) sewers to minimize flooding, environmentally dispose of waste and keep the sewers free from backups
• Maintain the roads by removing potholes, providing new surfaces, keeping the roads safe by maintaining traffic signs, signals, and lights