Water System
The City of Hood River’s high-quality water comes from a pristine groundwater source consisting of three springs located approximately 15 miles southwest of town on the slopes of Mount Hood. Cold Springs are located on approximately 23 acres of City-owned property near Lost Lake. It is estimated that the springs can continuously provide at least 10 million gallons of water per day. Currently, the City is only able to harness and use around five-million gallons of water per day. Water travels through a transmission main originally constructed in 1929 and has had numerous pressure zones and areas which have been rebuilt to facilitate the conveyance of water to a five-million-gallon reservoir. From the reservoir, water travels through approximately three more miles of parallel 14-inch and 16-inch mains to serve the City’s distribution system and two more reservoirs. The three reservoirs provide a total of nearly six million gallons of storage capacity for firefighting and service outages.
Service Line Inventory
The City is committed to providing safe drinking water to all residents. We recently completed a material inventory of service lines within the City which can be found on the dashboard at the following link: https://pws-ptd.120wateraudit.com/hoodriveror This dashboard provides information about service line materials for City and Customer-owned lines. Service lines in the City are made from a variety of materials, but NO lead service lines were found during the inventory.
See Current Water Line Projects HERE.
Utility Billing Information
The City of Hood River bills utility accounts on a monthly basis. Water meters are read based on the same schedule. In addition to water usage, we also bill for sewer and storm water. If you have specific questions about your utility bill, please contact the Utility Billing Department at 541-387-5216 during business hours: 9am-5pm Mon-Thurs, 10am-5pm Fri.
UTILITY BILLINGS/CHANGE OF ACCOUNTS – Call 541-387-5216
Online Utility Account Service Form
Cross Connection Control Program
While it’s a naturally occurring element, it’s highly toxic, resists breaking down in the environment, and accumulates in the food chain. Mercury can permanently affect fetal and child development and can damage the brain, kidneys, lungs, and nervous system.
A flyer describing the dangers of Mercury can be found here.
Protect Yourself From Mercury!
The City of Hood River aggressively pursues a cross connection control program to protect its water customers from foreign substances in the water system. Section 12.02.250 of the Hood River Municipal Code (HRMC) identifies the backflow protection required by the City in conformance with State of Oregon law.
A flyer describing requirements and types of devices is available here. (Disponible en español aquí)
Annual Consumer Confidence Report (Water Quality Report)
As required by State law, the City of Hood River prepares an annual report on its water quality, listing any potential contaminants that might have been detected during preceding test periods. The frequency of testing varies from daily to every five years depending on the substance.
Informe de calidad del agua de la ciudad de Hood River 2024 en español.
Reports from previous years may be viewed below or obtained by print for a minimal fee at the Public Works office at 1200 18th Street.
- 2024 Water Quality Report - Spanish
- 2024 Water Quality Report
- 2023 Water Quality Report - Spanish
- 2023 Water Quality Report
- 2022 Water Quality Report
- 2021 City of Hood River Water Quality Report
- 2020 Hood River Water Quality Report
- 2019 Water Quality Report
- 2017 City of Hood River Water Quality Report
Water Connection and Usage Charges
Water connection fees consist of the system development charge (SDC) plus the connection fee. Fees are based on the size of the water meter. Most residential users have a ¾” or a 1” meter. Usage charges for residential customers having a ¾” meter consist of a base charge, which includes the first 5000 gallons of water used and a commodity charge of $3.07 per 1000 gallons or fraction thereof used above the first 5000 gallons. For larger meters, there is no flow included in the base charge and all usage is billed at a commercial rate per 1000 gallons or fraction thereof used.
Water system connection fees include the cost of the City installing the water service from the main in the street to the meter. Connection of the service from the customer side of the meter to the house is the responsibility of the customer.
See the City of Hood River Consolidated Fee Schedule for Water System Connection Fees:
See the City of Hood River Utility Billing Information Flyer: