Research - Clean Water Services

Leave it to Beavers

There’s a lot we already know about nature’s engineers. Beavers have iron-enriched teeth, which is what makes them strong enough to gnaw wood (and gives them an orange color). Beavers also have a unique way of communicating — by slapping their tails to draw attention to something or even warn of potential danger.

Who’s Been Here? Using eDNA to Understand and Defend our Watershed

There are many different ways the watershed talks to us, if you know how to listen. At Clean Water Services (CWS), we are always working to understand the needs of the Tualatin River Watershed. One way we learn from the environment is asking “who or what has been here?” Since we can’t knock on the door of a beaver dam or ring a trout’s doorbell, CWS is using a new technique to translate the language of the watershed.

Testing the Waters: Inside the CWS Water Quality Lab

There's a lot of science involved in treating wastewater and managing stormwater in the uniquely challenging Tualatin River Watershed. A sizable portion of that science takes place in the Clean Water Services Water Quality Laboratory, where chemists perform over 100,000 water quality analyses a year.

A Clean water services employee adds material into test tubes in the lab onsite.

A World Connected by Shared Water and Wisdom

Luckily, given the complexities of managing water resources, all of us in this water-connected world benefit from the knowledge that flows throughout the water sector. 

Ten people stand in a line posing for a photo. In the background is a row of flags and a city scape with buildings and trees.

Sewage Monitoring Tracks COVID-19

Clean Water Services (CWS) is tracking signs of COVID-19 in Washington County’s wastewater, and throughout the pandemic has been collaborating on research projects to help public health officials detect the presence and scope of the virus in other communities.

A Clean Water Services employee working in the lab. The employee wears a white lab coat, a protective mask, gloves, and a baseball cap. He pours liquid into a glass beaker

COVID-19 Updates

We continue to keep your safety and health at the forefront — so all of us have clean water for drinking, washing our hands, and helping prevent the spread of the coronavirus.