 water supply curious about your water supply  people cannot live without water but we often take it for granted are you curious about where your water comes from the answer is it depends  residents living within the tricounty portlandmetropolitan area get their water from a variety of locations including watersheds as far west as the trask river coast range as far south as the willamette river in wilsonville and as far east as the bull run watershed in the foothills of mount hood municipal drinking water supplies come from surface water sources rivers and lakes or groundwater wells or a mix of the two while some people living in rural areas have their own wells in urban areas there are public water providers that plan and manage a complex network of facilities that move water from a variety of sources to your home or business this water supply infrastructure is made up of water treatment plants pump stations reservoirs intown storage tanks and thousands of miles of pipes the various water systems are individually managed by cities water districts and public utility districts the people employed by these agencies work hard to ensure that the public s water needs are met 24 hours a day 365 days a year helping regional water providers manage their water supplies efficiently and safely are primary goals of a group called the regional water providers consortium a group of over 20 members that include water providers and metro the consortium was formed in 1997 after a multiyear effort that resulted in the creation of a regional water supply plan  the group s responsibilities have grown from planning for the region s water needs to implementing conservation and emergency preparedness programs  water supplies some areas receive all of their water from one source other areas use a number of sources you can always check your water bill to find out the name of your water provider but the following provides general information about water sources by county multnomah county water providers include the cities of portland   gresham   fairview  troutdale    and wood village     rockwood water people s utility district pud and several other smaller entities water primarily comes from these sources of supply  bull run river columbia south shore well field   the city of portland water system which is made up of the bull run river and reservoirs located 26 miles east of downtown portland supplemented during emergencies and the summer peak season by the columbia south shore well field located between blue lake park and the portland airport  groundwater  other sources of supply include groundwater developed by other entities either as their sole source of supply or to augment water purchased from the portland supply system  washington county water providers include the cities of tualatin   tigard   hillsboro   forest grove  cornelius     beaverton  and sherwood  the raleigh  west slope and tualatin valley water districts and several other smaller entities water primarily comes from these sources of supply  joint water commission water treatment plant  some of the water providers use water from the joint water commission water treatment plant which gets water from barney reservoir in the coast range on the trask river system hagg lake on the tualatin river system and some water from the tualatin river  wholesale contracts  in addition some of these same providers have wholesale contracts to obtain water from the portland water bureau supply system to serve as their primary source or to supplement their other source of supply  groundwater  in some jurisdictions groundwater is also used aquifer storage and recovery   asr asr is also used to help meet peak demand by taking surface water sources and injecting into the ground in winter when supplies are more abundant and pumped out for use in the summer months to augment other supplies  clackamas county water providers include the cities of sandy   wilsonville   gladstone   milwaukie   lake oswego   west linn  and oregon city   sunrise water authority  boring lake grove    and oak lodge water districts  clackamas river water  and several other smaller entities water primarily comes from these sources of supply  clackamas river  there are four individual intakes sites along the river from where water is drawn located in the lower three miles of the river before it flows into the willamette river there are four individual water treatment plants willamette river  the willamette river at wilsonville is the site of a large water intake facility connected to a smaller water treatment plant which is the major source of supply in the city of wilsonville groundwater  in some jurisdictions groundwater is also used surface water sources and asr  in addition the city of sandy has two small surface water sources asr is also being explored or is being developed as a supplemental source of supply  a case for conservation we are fortunate to have plentiful water supplies capable of meeting our current need for clean safe drinking water however the amount of water available from each water source may vary from month to month and the amount of water used by households in the summer months can be two to three times more than what is used in the winter months it is also important to keep sufficient water in the rivers and streams to meet the needs of fish and aquatic life as well as for other users what can you do  be smart with the water you use so that there is plenty to go around get more information about how you can conserve water indoors and outdoors  download the entire article and a fullpage of the map here    note troutdale wood village cornelius and lake grove are not members of the regional water providers consortium if you receive your water from these providers contact them directly for more information    about  